Three Yoon Core Group Members Declare 'Baekui Jonggun'... Kim Jong-in Says "Being Outside Doesn't Mean Losing Influence"

Kwon Seong-dong, Secretary General of the People Power Party and General Support Headquarters Chief of the Party's Presidential Election Committee, who resigned from the committee, is answering reporters' questions as he leaves the central party office in Yeouido, Seoul on the 4th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The actions of the three key figures of Yoon's core group (Yoon Seok-yeol presidential candidate's close associates) ? Kwon Seong-dong, Jang Je-won, and Yoon Han-hong ? who were pointed out during the reorganization of the People Power Party's election committee, are drawing attention. Although they are temporarily stepping back from the election committee organization, concerns remain that the close-knit group may still exert influence.

According to the People Power Party on the 6th, Kwon Seong-dong, who serves as the party secretary-general, and Yoon Han-hong, the deputy head of strategic planning, expressed their intention to resign and declared their readiness to serve the party selflessly during the election committee reorganization process the day before. Jang Je-won also announced in November that he would "leave Yoon's side." Essentially, Yoon's close associates are stepping down from the official stage.

Yoon himself, while announcing a full reorganization of the election committee the day before, stated, "I am well aware of the public's concerns that those close to me influence the election committee," and declared, "Once they step down from official bodies, it will be difficult for them to exert the kind of influence the public worries about," officially confirming the departure of Yoon's core group.

Yoon made this statement to dispel the controversy surrounding his core group, which partly contributed to the decline in his approval ratings, expressing a commitment to "change." However, skepticism remains in political circles. Former People Power Party general election committee chairman Kim Jong-in appeared on the radio that day and said, "Just because they are outside doesn't mean their influence has disappeared." He emphasized the possibility that Yoon might still make decisions through communication with his close group outside the official election committee structure.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

If Yoon maintains this decision-making structure, it is inevitable that it will be exposed in some way, which could act as an obstacle to recovering his approval ratings. Earlier, Yoon stated in an interview with a media outlet, "I listen to what I need to know through about 20 people with whom I communicate regularly."

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