Kim Byung-joon: "Even Roh Moo-hyun was criticized a lot for supporting 'Nohaekgwan' during elections"

"If you unite around a candidate, you fight against the group opposing that candidate and eventually win"

Kim Byung-joon, Standing Election Committee Chairman of the People Power Party. / Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] Kim Byung-joon, Standing Election Committee Chairman of the People Power Party and former Chief of Policy Staff at the Blue House under the Roh Moo-hyun administration, addressed the so-called 'Yunhaekgwan (key associates of presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol)' controversy, stating, "Because candidate centrality is not secured, terms like 'Yunhaekgwan' are erupting everywhere," and added, "In fact, elections are fought by the candidate's close aides. Respecting that is the end of the matter."

In an interview with Kukmin Ilbo released on the 26th, Kim said, "Candidate Yoon came from outside the People Power Party. Therefore, he had to gain the party's cooperation. That is one of the reasons why candidate centrality became weak."

He explained, "Former President Roh Moo-hyun was also within the Democratic Party, but as a non-mainstream figure, he could not control the party. So, he deployed his close aides, such as Representative Lee Kwang-jae and former Chungnam Governor Ahn Hee-jung, who were in their 30s at the time, to the forefront to establish that centrality. Nowadays, they would be called 'Nohhaekgwan' (key associates of Noh)."

He continued, "Former President Roh was often criticized for empowering the Nohhaekgwan while running the election. However, if you unite around the candidate, you fight against groups opposing that candidate and ultimately win."

However, he pointed out, "There is considerable misunderstanding about the Yunhaekgwan issue. There are suspicions that groups surrounding the candidate block contact with others and distort information. But many people blame the Yunhaekgwan when their proposals or advice are not accepted."

He added, "Even Representative Jang Je-won must feel unfair now. I roughly know the candidate's schedule, and I have had no recent contact with Representative Jang. People who are cautious are being labeled as Yunhaekgwan, so they can understandably feel wronged," and argued, "The way to resolve the Yunhaekgwan controversy is ultimately through mutual trust."

Regarding calls for a complete overhaul of the election committee, he said, "An election committee without candidate centrality is noisy," but added, "However, there is no time to restructure the election committee. For example, if our election committee has 500 members, and we assume 200 or 300 are dismissed, do you think those people would just leave quietly?"

He emphasized, "We all must think that we exist for the candidate. We must give up our own interests. And the candidate must be highlighted. All important messages should come through the candidate's mouth."

On the controversy over candidate Yoon's verbal slips, he defended, "Candidate Yoon and former President Roh Moo-hyun share similarities. They speak bluntly and pour out what is on their minds. I think that honesty is good," and added, "It is important to persuade people about the reasons behind misunderstandings regarding verbal slips. I also think that this straightforward speaking style actually helps communication with the public."

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