Yoon Suk-yeol: "'I am a feminist' remark was a misunderstanding during the written interview process"···WP releases Yoon's response

Yoon Says in WP Interview, "I Consider Myself a Feminist"
People Power Party: "Misunderstanding Due to Summary Provided During Written Interview"
WP Reporter Releases Interview Responses Amid Controversy

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is giving a speech at the Jeju Island base rally titled "Winning Together with Jeju," held on the 8th around Dongmun Market in Jeju City.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] The People Power Party clarified that the statement made by presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol in an interview with the Washington Post (WP), where he said, "I consider myself a feminist," was a "misunderstanding during the written interview process." In response, the WP journalist released Yoon's full answer containing the statement.

Earlier, on the 7th, WP published an article titled "The Men Who Will Be South Korea's Next President," featuring interviews with Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and Yoon. WP explained that gender issues are controversial in South Korea and reported that Yoon had been criticized for campaigns perceived as not supporting women's rights. Previously, on January 7, Yoon had announced a pledge to abolish the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family on his Facebook page, which drew criticism from women's organizations.

According to the report, when asked, "Are you a feminist?" Yoon responded, "I think there are various ways to interpret feminism," adding, "Feminism is a form of humanism that recognizes the reality of gender discrimination and inequality and is a movement to correct it. In that sense, I consider myself a feminist."

In response, on the 8th, the People Power Party's election campaign headquarters' public relations team announced, "The Washington Post article published yesterday (7th) was based on an abbreviated version mistakenly sent during the written response process," and released the original written response. They claimed that the abbreviated version, not the original, was sent to WP, resulting in statements attributed to Yoon that he did not make appearing in the article.

According to the original written response released by the People Power Party, Yoon answered the question by saying, "I will govern from the perspective of solving individual problems without collectively distinguishing between men and women," and added, "Rather than a dichotomous view separating men and women, I want to look at and solve problems from the individual's standpoint. Distinctions based on gender inevitably create blind spots for the disadvantaged and make solutions more difficult."

He also said, "In the TV debate, I said, 'I think feminism is a movement that respects women as human beings, as a form of humanism.'"

Michelle Lee, a Washington Post (WP) reporter, shared an interview with Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, on her Twitter. Photo by Twitter capture

As the controversy arose, Michelle Lee, the WP journalist who wrote the article, shared on her Twitter that "We included the full response in the article," and released Yoon's answer.

According to the released response, Yoon's answer stated, "I think there are various ways to interpret feminism. In the debate, I expressed the view that 'feminism is a form of humanism that acknowledges the reality of gender discrimination and inequality and is a movement to correct inequality and discrimination,' and in that sense, I consider myself a feminist."

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