"Yoon, Why Couldn't You Join the Military While Throwing an Uppercut?" Song Young-gil... Lee Jun-seok Responds, "If Your Eyes Are Bad, Can't You Throw an Uppercut?"

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, visited Sodap Market in Uichang-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam, on the morning of the 17th to appeal for support for candidate Yoon Seok-yeol.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, raised suspicions about military service exemption related to Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, and his 'uppercut ceremony,' while Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, criticized, "If your eyes are bad, does that mean you can't do an uppercut?" Candidate Yoon was exempted from military service after being diagnosed with anisometropia (不同視, a condition where there is a significant difference in vision between the two eyes) during the 1982 military examination.

On the 17th, Lee said on CBS Radio's 'Hanpan Seungbu,' "Candidate Yoon's anisometropia is confirmed by military records and also by a separate physical examination conducted later."

Earlier, Song urged Candidate Yoon to disclose materials related to his anisometropia military exemption at the 'Gangwon Province Party Transformation Headquarters Meeting' held by the Democratic Party's Gangwon Provincial Party.

At the meeting, Song said, "Candidate Yoon claims he was exempted because the difference in vision between his left and right eyes exceeded 0.7 due to anisometropia, but according to Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Eui-gyeom, the physical examination records submitted when Yoon was appointed as a prosecutor show a difference of only 0.2," adding, "Watching his uppercut ceremony, he seems to have a strong physique like a Ssireum wrestler, so how could he have avoided military service?"

In response, Lee pointed out, "It is not appropriate to compare the slightly different results from the abbreviated physical examination done at the time of appointment as a prosecutor with the strict vision test results used for military service judgment." He added, "Even if re-examined, the results would likely be similar."

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is performing an 'uppercut ceremony' toward cheering supporters during a campaign rally held at the intersection near Seokchon Lake West Lake in Songpa-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 17th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Lee also said that if a 'unification of the opposition' between Candidate Yoon and Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People Party, is achieved, "a merger will naturally be considered."

He said, "If Candidate Ahn makes a decision regarding the opposition unification, the previously postponed merger should naturally be considered as an option," emphasizing, "Until a few months ago, except for the party name, everything was negotiable regarding a merger with the People Party, so we are always open to that."

When asked by the host whether "unification ultimately means only Ahn's withdrawal or subsequent endorsement," Lee replied, "That's correct. The timing for a poll-based unification has long passed," adding, "From Candidate Yoon's perspective, the election campaign atmosphere is intensifying, and he is leading by preempting issues."

He continued, "Suddenly bringing up political-engineering unification issues at the center of the election can only be seen as disrupting the flow," explaining, "At the campaign headquarters level, and I also intend to focus on vision and policies so that such messages do not arise."

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