Woo Sang-ho, "President Moon's Election Interference? Just a Response to Yoon's Shocking Remarks"

"Yoon, If No Apology, Even Moderate Voters Will All Leave"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Woo Sang-ho, the general election campaign headquarters chief of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 11th, refuted the claim that President Moon Jae-in's public apology demand to Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, was 'election interference,' saying, "Yoon candidate's remarks themselves were so shocking that the (President Moon) response came out," and "It was not intended to politically exploit these remarks."

Woo Sang-ho, Chief of the General Election Countermeasures Headquarters of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Headquarters Meeting of the Election Countermeasures Committee held at the Central Party Office in Yeouido, Seoul on the 4th, delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Woo, the general election campaign headquarters chief, appeared on CBS Radio that morning and said, "People keep politically interpreting and distorting the essence of this issue without properly understanding it, but this is not a matter that can be overlooked," expressing his view.

Regarding President Moon's strong anger and public apology demand over Yoon candidate's remarks about 'investigations into accumulated evils,' Woo began by saying, "(President Moon) seems to have been quite shocked."

He explained, "We have already judged that (Yoon candidate) gave investigation orders as if he had taken power," adding, "Since he already issued orders (for investigations of the Moon administration) during his candidacy, we see it as a prelude to retaliatory investigations, and this is why the president responded."

He warned that if Yoon candidate refuses to accept the Blue House's public apology demand and ultimately does not apologize, the backlash will hit the opposition party side more severely.

Woo said, "If he does not apologize, even the moderate voters will all leave," adding, "Whether to apologize or not is up to Yoon candidate's side, but the backlash from not apologizing will be greater on that camp." He also added, "(We) will continue to protest and condemn until (Yoon candidate) apologizes."

Within the Democratic Party, it is analyzed that this incident has led to a noticeable consolidation of the support base centered around the pro-Moon faction.

Woo said, "There were quite a few people who said they absolutely could not vote for candidate Lee, but recently we have been receiving continuous contacts," adding, "To protect President Moon, even though they have thought candidate Lee was not suitable, they say this is not the time to argue about such issues," and that he has received many such messages. He also said, "Many people have actively inquired with pro-Moon lawmakers and former and current members of the National Assembly," and "Seeing these calls, it seems they feel a strong sense of crisis and are moving."

Regarding the TV debate held that evening, he viewed it as difficult to predict the voting intentions of the undecided voters. He said, "TV debates usually have a big influence on undecided voters, but even in the last TV debate, the undecided voters' reactions did not come out immediately," and judged, "There is a possibility of a close race within the margin of error until the end." He continued, "It is becoming somewhat difficult to predict which issues (undecided voters) will respond to, but candidate Lee will emphasize his presidential capabilities regarding the economy and people's livelihood."

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