Song Young-gil on Yoon's Dol-sang and 'Yen' Remark: "Admits Mistake, Expresses Regret"

The banknotes on the first birthday table of Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, were confirmed to be 1,000-cheon banknotes.
[Photo by Yoon Seok-yeol, People Power Party presidential candidate's social networking service (SNS) capture]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, retracted his statement referring to the currency placed on Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate's first birthday table, as Japanese yen.

On the 20th, the Democratic Party's Public Relations Office announced through a notice message, "Leader Song acknowledged his mistake regarding the statement about the currency on candidate Yoon's first birthday table and expressed regret." A photo of the first birthday table posted on candidate Yoon's social media showed a 1,000 hwan bill placed among fruits and rice cakes.

Previously, on the 19th, during the 2021 regular general meeting of Minpyeongryeon (National Coalition for Economic Democratization and Peaceful Unification), Song said, "Candidate Yoon's father, Yoon Ki-jung, was a professor at Yonsei University, where I studied," and stated that Yoon was "born as the son of a wealthy Yonsei professor who received a scholarship from Japan's Ministry of Education, graduated from Hitotsubashi University, received support from the Academy of Sciences, worked at the Ministry of Industry, and whose first birthday table had Japanese yen instead of Korean currency, showing close ties with Japan."

On the same day, Song said, "(Candidate Yoon) graduated from Seoul National University Law School, lived as a prosecutor and prosecutor general in a dominant position, and now comes out shouting for fairness and common sense to protect liberal democracy, but both he and his wife are embroiled in corruption allegations." He added, "It would be truly regrettable for senior Kim Geun-tae in heaven to see that we cannot gain the people's trust because we are not working hard against such forces."

In response, the People Power Party rebutted Song's remarks as baseless negativity. Lee Yang-su, chief spokesperson for candidate Yoon, stated in a comment, "The money in the photo is a 1,000 hwan bill issued by the Bank of Korea," and criticized, "The public watching the ruling party leader raise unfounded pro-Japanese suspicions will feel sorrow rather than anger."

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