Heo Kyung-young: "They Won't Air Me on TV, So Calling Is My Only Option... I'm the Victim"

Huh Kyung-young, the presidential candidate of the National Revolutionary Party, is holding a New Year's press conference at the central party office in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Heo Kyung-young, the presidential candidate of the National Revolutionary Party, repeatedly demanded to be allowed to appear on TV broadcasts.

On the 30th, Candidate Heo made this statement public through Facebook, sharing conversations with reporters following the Seoul Western District Court's dismissal of the 'injunction request to ban TV debates among the four presidential candidates.'

At the time, Candidate Heo explained the criticism that he caused inconvenience by making 3 to 4 calls per voter, saying, "Since I am not allowed on TV and the media does not report on me, the only way to make myself known is through phone calls."

Candidate Heo said, "This is self-defense. It is legal for me to make calls as a basic right of the people," adding, "But since you say it is inconvenient, I will stop now."

He also expressed regret over the court's decision, saying, "Now there is no opportunity to make myself known, no chance to inform people that I am running for president."

Furthermore, Candidate Heo claimed that the other four candidates are gaining tremendous advertising effects through TV, stating, "I spent several billion won of my own money on phone calls and several billion more on newspaper advertisements."

He expressed anger, saying, "Even though I spent an enormous amount of about 10 billion won, I have never been allowed on broadcast; I am a victim."

On the 30th, Heo Kyung-young, the presidential candidate of the National Revolutionary Party, shared on Facebook the conversation he had with reporters following the Seoul Western District Court's dismissal of the injunction request to ban the TV debate among the four major presidential candidates.
[Photo by Facebook capture]

Earlier, Candidate Heo's team had been making random promotional calls starting with "This is Candidate Heo Kyung-young" since November last year. Most people received about 2 to 3 calls, and some received up to 10 calls.

As the calls continued, complaints such as "It's annoying" and "I thought it was an important call" poured in. In response, Candidate Heo's team declared a halt on the 24th.

Regarding the phone costs, Candidate Heo's team said, "It seems about 3 calls were made per voter, but we need to tally the exact number," adding, "It seems to have cost about 1 billion won."

Industry sources stated that for 'promotional calls made via internet phones to personal mobile phones,' the cost is 11.7 won per 10 seconds, and considering VAT, about 13 won per 10 seconds.

With about 43 million voters and considering '3 calls per person,' Candidate Heo's team made over 100 million calls, which would amount to approximately 1.3 billion won in costs.

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