Kang Yong-seok "Spoke with President Yoon but No Record"... Ongoing 'Truth Dispute'

Independent candidate for Gyeonggi Province Governor Kang Yong-seok registered as a candidate for the 8th nationwide local elections on the morning of the 12th at the Gyeonggi Province Election Commission in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Kang Yong-seok, an independent candidate running for governor of Gyeonggi Province in the June 1 local elections, denied reports claiming that President Yoon Seok-yeol made a direct phone call to him during his president-elect period.

On the 17th, Kang said during a YouTube live broadcast, "I never said there was a record of (a call with President Yoon). This article is a bit over the top. It makes no sense to say there is a record of a call. They wrote it as they pleased."

He explained, "The Democratic Party is raising issues as if 'the president interfered in the election,' but since it was during the president-elect period, not when he was president, there is no problem," adding, "We were already on speaking terms."

He continued, "The call came late at night on Friday, May 6. The content was no different from what I said in the earlier interview with Korea Economic Daily," but clarified, "The added details are not true. This is our official position, and we will not provide further comments."

Kang added, "Some people feel uncomfortable as if this is a dispute with the presidential office, but that was not our intention. It accidentally came out during the interview process, and even the reporter apologized for how it turned out."

Earlier, in an interview with Korea Economic Daily on the 13th, Kang claimed, "I am a judicial research institute classmate of President Yoon, so I have a closer relationship than candidate Kim Eun-hye," and said, "Even last week during his president-elect period, he contacted me and said, 'Since the candidate has already been decided, why attack candidate Kim Eun-hye? Shouldn't we fight well together?'"

In response, the Gyeonggi Province branch of the Democratic Party filed a complaint with the Gyeonggi Provincial Election Commission on the 16th, accusing President Yoon of violating the Public Official Election Act by interfering in the election and also filed a complaint against Kang for making such statements.

However, the presidential office stated in a notice, "The president has not spoken with lawyer Kang Yong-seok. Please refer to this regarding the reports."

Meanwhile, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, commented on the unification of candidates Kim Eun-hye and Kang Yong-seok for governor of Gyeonggi Province, saying, "From the ruling party's perspective, there is no reason to even consider unification with forces that raise allegations of presidential election interference."

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