After Announcing 'Attendance,' Appeared via Speakerphone... Yoon's Side Expresses "Regret" Over Youth Meeting Controversy

"Youth Want Candidate Replacement" Youth Aide Resigns as Well

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The People Power Party held a nationwide youth meeting via video conference, which was announced to be attended by presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol. However, Yoon only participated through a speakerphone call, causing backlash among the attendees. In response, the People Power Party stated, "Yoon was not scheduled to attend today's meeting," and explained, "Yoon greeted the youth on the spot after receiving a phone call from former Secretary-General Kwon Seong-dong."

On the 5th, the People Power Party’s Election Committee Public Relations Team issued a statement saying, "It is clear that the Communication Headquarters made an announcement not based on facts, and the election officials deeply regret disappointing the attendees." The PR team added, "We will take necessary measures regarding the unfortunate incident that occurred today."

At the nationwide youth meeting held via video conference at 4 p.m. that day, the People Power Party had informed attendees that "Candidate Yoon Seok-yeol is expected to attend" and urged participation. However, Yoon did not appear, and former Secretary-General Kwon and Assemblyman Park Seong-joong attended and began the discussion.

When a youth asked, "We heard the candidate would come out, but when will he appear?" former Assemblyman Kwon turned on the speakerphone to let Yoon’s voice be heard. Eventually, as Yoon did not show up, the youth expressed strong anger through chat and voice messages, shouting phrases such as "Yoon Seok-yeol resign" and "Still not coming to your senses."

Criticism also continued within the party. Kwak Seung-yong, youth advisor to the People Power Party’s Policy Headquarters, wrote on Facebook, "After seeing today’s youth meeting, I have decided to resign as youth advisor," and pointed out, "The youth want a change of candidate. This is the public opinion of the youth as I understand it." Jang Ye-chan, head of the Youth Headquarters of the Election Committee, also issued a statement saying, "This event was not coordinated in advance with any youth advisors or Youth Headquarters staff," and strongly demanded, "We strongly call for Assemblyman Park’s public apology and resignation."

When reporters asked about the incident, candidate Yoon responded, "I didn’t attend, I just greeted by phone when I got a call. What happened?" He added, "I was thinking about going if the timing worked out, but I couldn’t go," and asked again, "What’s going on?"

After hearing that attendees were angry, he said, "I have a lot of schedules today, so it’s hard to go, but if there’s time, I can go," and added, "I will check on it."

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