Yoon's Side: "Will Apologize in Gwangju After Final Debate... Sorry"

"Yoon Sentenced Jeon Du-hwan to Life Imprisonment in University Mock Criminal Trial"

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, a presidential primary candidate of the People Power Party. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Kim Kyung-jin, former lawmaker and external cooperation special advisor for former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol's campaign, said on the 25th, "I am preparing to apologize to the people of Gwangju immediately after the final debate."

On YTN Radio's 'Hwang Bo-seon's Start of a New Morning' that day, former lawmaker Kim said, "I would like to take this opportunity to repeatedly apologize to the public for remarks that could be misunderstood as defending Jeon Du-hwan on behalf of candidate Yoon."

He added, "However, from an aide's perspective, if I may say a word for candidate Yoon, he conducted a criminal mock trial on Jeon Du-hwan during his university days and sentenced him to life imprisonment. Because of that, there was a situation where he had to run away for several months due to state agencies."

He continued, "Also, if the constitution is amended, I have repeatedly said before that the spirit of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement must be reflected in the preamble of the constitution so that the spirit of the Gwangju democratization movement shines brilliantly in the history of the Republic of Korea," adding, "I hope the public understands and trusts candidate Yoon's thoughts and philosophy."

When asked by the host whether going to Gwangju would help calm public sentiment, former lawmaker Kim said, "We do not know whether it will be calmed or not. We must be scolded as the people scold us," and added, "Anyway, former Prosecutor General Yoon's thoughts and sincerity are not like that. I want to repeatedly say that he stands with the spirit of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement."

Regarding criticism that the election campaign operation was flawed, he said, "We are also reflecting a lot," and added, "After being selected as a (presidential) candidate, the campaign should be reorganized into the main campaign. I understand that candidate Yoon is probably planning a campaign reorganization in his mind." He continued, "Because the aides did not support candidate Yoon well, such incidents occurred, and we feel sorry to the public," offering repeated apologies.

Earlier, on the 19th, former Prosecutor General Yoon visited the Busan Haeundae Gap party member council and said, "Although former President Jeon Du-hwan made mistakes, many say that except for the military coup and May 18, his politics were good. Quite a few people in Honam also say so."

As the controversy grew, he said the next day on Facebook, "What I wanted to say was that if I become president, I will appoint experts and talents in each field to the right place so that they can demonstrate their capabilities."

Also, after expressing regret over the remarks defending Jeon Du-hwan, former Prosecutor General Yoon posted a photo apologizing to his pet dog, which drew criticism for lacking sincerity.

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