Ha Tae-kyung: "Won Hee-ryong is a Boy Who Cried Wolf... He Must Apologize to the Party and the People"

Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, is urging candidate Won Hee-ryong, a presidential contender within the party, to withdraw at the National Assembly Communication Office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 18th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Ha Tae-kyung, a presidential primary candidate from the People Power Party, criticized fellow party presidential primary candidate and former Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong over their recent dispute with People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok regarding a phone call transcript, calling Won "the boy who cried wolf three times."

On the morning of the 19th, Ha appeared on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus" and said, "As the situation with the Yoon Seok-youl camp is being organized, bringing up a phone call from a week ago without certainty and plunging the party back into conflict makes me conclude that Won Hee-ryong is obstructing regime change to make a name for himself."

Regarding Won's revelation of Yoon Seok-youl's boycott remarks, Ha said, "What has been confirmed is that Yoon Seok-youl's side never used the word 'boycott.' Moreover, it was a private conversation," adding, "Someone aspiring to be president cannot be considered a public figure if they expose private calls."

He further commented on the word "that" in Lee's statement "That will be settled soon," which sparked a war of nerves between Won and Lee, saying, "It was a private call between Lee Jun-seok and Won Hee-ryong. Originally, Won said the wording was 'Yoon Seok-youl will be settled.' But when the transcript was revealed, the subject was not Yoon Seok-youl."

Ha then pointed out, "Everything Won claims to have heard is inaccurate," adding, "There was no mention of 'boycott,' and although it was said that Yoon Seok-youl would be settled, his name was not mentioned," and criticized, "At this level, isn't he basically a candidate specializing in false accusations?"

Ha also expressed fear over Won distorting and exposing the phone call contents, saying, "Won Hee-ryong is turning our society into a society of distrust. How can the public comfortably talk with politicians like this? Surely, what is said at drinking parties cannot be the same as what is officially stated to the media."

Furthermore, he urged, "At this point, I believe Won Hee-ryong should apologize to the party and the public," calling for Won's apology.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.