Yoon Seok-yeol, on Repeated 'Gaffe Controversies': "If I Used Unacceptable Expressions, It's a Politician's Responsibility"

Controversy Over Gaffe: "Learned the Responsibility of a Politician"
Ahn Cheol-soo's Willingness to Unite... "Must Draw a Big Picture of Opposition Integration"

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential pre-candidate of the People Power Party, addressed the controversy surrounding his 'slip of the tongue' by stating, "No matter how much I consider myself a protector of the constitution emphasizing liberal democracy, if I used expressions that were difficult for others to accept, I have learned that it is the responsibility of a politician."

In an interview with TV Chosun's 'News 9' on the 1st, Yoon described next year's presidential election as "a confrontation between someone who can firmly uphold the rule of law and someone who completely disregards it."

Regarding Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, he criticized, "While serving as a local government head, many problems arose, and even legal criminal activities have been revealed," adding, "Fairness and common sense have become the spirit of the times. That means they have been broken." He continued, "What the so-called Moon Jae-in administration destroyed is now being inherited by candidate Lee Jae-myung, who is being called 'Moon-myung'."

Addressing criticism about his low support among the youth, he speculated, "When the Cho Kuk incident, which young people saw as a typical case of unfairness, was being investigated, I received a lot of support from the youth, although not as a politician. However, focusing on economic and foreign security issues while in politics might have changed the image I had during my public service days."

He responded positively about the possibility of a 'one team' after the primary. He said, "We are people who came together to achieve a regime change," adding, "It's just a matter of who will be chosen as the representative player. The people are watching, so how can we not unite and combine our strength by forming a 'one team'?"

He also expressed his willingness to unify with Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party. He stated, "Before joining the People Power Party, I had a public luncheon meeting with Representative Ahn Cheol-soo, and we are communicating with each other," emphasizing, "Of course, we need to draw the big picture of opposition unity."

Meanwhile, Yoon has been embroiled in controversy due to repeated slips of the tongue during the primary process.

In a TV debate during the primary the day before, when asked about dog meat consumption, he caused a stir by replying, "It's not about abusing companion animals; dogs raised for meat are bred separately." Earlier, in July, in an interview with Maeil Business Newspaper, he sparked debate over his views on labor by saying, "It’s not 52 hours a week, but even if it’s 120 hours a week, you should work hard and then rest as much as you want."

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