Lee Jun-seok "National Interview, Texts Flood In Asking Why Hardcore Leftist Jin Joong-kwon Was Invited"

50,000 Viewers Tune In for Live YouTube Broadcast of Presidential Candidate Interviews on the 9th

On the 9th, interviewers participating in the 'People's Signal Interview' for the People Power Party's presidential primary candidates held at Jeul Studio in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, are seen conversing. From the left, Professor Park Sun-young of Dongguk University, former Dongyang University Professor Jin Joong-kwon, and Kim Jun-il, CEO of Newstope./Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Joo-hee] On the 9th, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, commented on the party's presidential primary candidate 'People's Signal Interview' held on the same day, saying, "There has been a flood of messages asking why Jin Joong-kwon was invited."

Appearing on CBS Radio's 'One Round Match' on the 9th, Lee said this when asked about the internal evaluation of the interview, adding that the event seemed successful in terms of popularity, with simultaneous viewers on the YouTube live broadcast reaching 50,000.

Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon, who appeared on the broadcast that day, participated as an interviewer for the People's Signal Interview. In particular, Jin asked sharp and incisive questions to the presidential candidates, which reportedly caused dissatisfaction among People Power Party supporters.

One of the presidential candidates, Representative Hong Joon-pyo, directly expressed dissatisfaction, saying, "The interviewers are hardcore leftists; how could such people be chosen as interviewers?" Former Representative Yoo Seung-min also pointed out, "There is a problem with the interviewers. Jin Joong-kwon publicly supported former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl."

Lee said, "Looking at the messages, many ask why only leftists were invited," adding, "It seems to be from supporters of certain candidates, but there were so many comments about leftists." Jin also added, "Even during the live broadcast, there were many posts criticizing Jin Joong-kwon."

Lee joked about Jin Joong-kwon, saying, "Is he really a leftist? He values labor productivity and is very interested in daily sales; he's a leftist in name only."

Lee further explained the selection of interviewers, saying, "I did not select Jin Joong-kwon. I introduced journalist Kim Jun-il to the conservative world," and stated that he chose Kim Jun-il, CEO of Newstope, as an interviewer.

Jin Joong-kwon revealed, "What I requested was to 'completely fill this side with red,' meaning to invite truly hardcore Democratic Party supporters, those who support or are close to Cho Kuk (former Minister of Justice)." The purpose was to see if the presidential candidates could respond to questions from interviewers holding opposing views rather than supporters of the People Power Party.

Regarding this, Lee said, "But you can't call Kim Nam-guk of the Democratic Party, can you?" He added, "As an idea, I suggested to the secretariat someone like former Representative Yoo In-tae. It seemed like a very good idea, but it was not easy." Yoo In-tae, a senior figure in the ruling party, is known for his relentless criticism of the Democratic Party regarding issues such as the Cho Kuk incident and the amendment to the Media Arbitration Act.

About the 50,000 real-time viewers of the People's Signal Interview that day, Lee asked, "How much did Jin Joong-kwon contribute?" Jin jokingly replied, "Almost entirely," while Kim Sung-hoe, spokesperson for the Open Democratic Party who also appeared on the broadcast, evaluated that the event seemed successful in attracting public interest, saying, "(The number of viewers) reportedly reached 58,000."

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