Won Heeryong Says He Was Unaware of Yoon's "Abolish Gender Ministry" Pledge... Finds "Dalpamyeolgong" Hard to Agree With

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy, Reporter Naju Seok] On January 10, Won Hee-ryong, Head of Policy at the People Power Party, commented on presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl's pledge to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, saying, "To be honest, that pledge did not come from our policy headquarters."

Won made these remarks during an appearance on TBS Radio's "Kim Eo-jun's News Factory" on the same day. He explained, "I was not aware of it at the time of the announcement," and added, "I spoke with the candidate by phone immediately after the announcement."

Earlier, candidate Yoon had announced via social networking services (SNS) his intention to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. This led to confusion over whether he meant the complete abolition of the ministry or changes to its structure and functions.

Won stated, "There was a lot of internal debate regarding the pledge to abolish the ministry, but the candidate made the final decision," and added, "There were strong arguments on both sides regarding the content."

When asked by the host whether the decision was made by Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, Won replied, "I don't know the deeper details," but added, "Since it happened right after that, I suppose there may be a context in which things are moving in one direction, but that's just speculation. Since the candidate made the decision, unless he explains it himself, everything else would be mere conjecture."

Regarding candidate Yoon's recent purchase of eggs, green onions, anchovies, and beans at a supermarket, Won expressed discomfort. He said, "Whether it was someone's idea or actually intended that way, I can only speculate, so I don't feel comfortable commenting on it," and added, "To be honest, I also find it hard to agree with."

Some have interpreted that the initials of the items Yoon bought-egg (dal), green onion (pa), anchovy (myeol), and bean (kong)-form "Dalpamyeolkong," with "dalpa" meaning "President Moon Jae-in will be destroyed," and "myeolkong" referring to "destroying communism" (myeolgong).

Meanwhile, regarding the possibility of a unified candidacy between Yoon and Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People's Party, Won said, "It seems inevitable."

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