Cheon Haram "Han Gukmindeul, I didn't say to unconditionally kneel to Japan"

People Power Party Former Representative Candidate, MBC Radio Interview
"Yoon, Japan Knee Statement, Simplifies Korea's Demand"

Cheon Ha-ram, former chairman of the People Power Party's Suncheon Gap district committee who ran for party leader, criticized President Yoon Suk-yeol's controversial remarks in his interview with the Washington Post (WP), saying, "The president's remarks are not refined enough. They overly simplify our demands."

On the 26th, Cheon appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and pointed out, "Most of our people are not saying 'kneel unconditionally' to Japan. They want an appropriate level of apology and reflection on the past."

Cheon Haram, Chairman of the People Power Party Jeonnam Suncheon Gap District Committee.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Cheon said, "Our people would also want to move toward a future-oriented relationship if Japan does not deny the past and does not make any unjust claims regarding Dokdo," adding, "In that sense, (President Yoon's remarks) seem to use expressions that excessively simplify the issue."

He continued, "Because it was overly simplified, the wording came out as 'unacceptable.' I personally did not like this kind of wording."

Cheon also criticized Chief Spokesperson Yoo Sang-beom, who caused controversy by raising the possibility of mistranslation regarding President Yoon's interview, saying, "Why does the ruling party's spokesperson make half-baked explanations on such an important issue without fact-checking?" He also pointedly criticized the presidential office, saying, "When such excessive and extreme remarks come from the president, why doesn't the presidential office correct them immediately? I really don't understand that."

He added, "When people speak during an interview, it can naturally happen. It can become a habit to give extreme examples, but then the aides present could say, 'It would be better to correct the president's remarks,' couldn't they?"

Cheon said, "Usually, when doing a solo interview, even after it ends, there can be some communication. If you say, 'I would like to revise that remark like this,' most requests are accepted," and added, "In many ways, I feel that the ruling party and the presidential office are acting strangely and that something is not functioning properly."

Earlier, President Yoon sparked controversy by saying in the WP interview, "Regarding events from 100 years ago, saying 'absolutely not' or 'kneel unconditionally' to Japan is unacceptable." The opposition criticized this as 'representing Japan.'

In response, Chief Spokesperson Yoo issued a statement saying, "It should be interpreted as '(Japan) cannot accept being told absolutely no or to kneel unconditionally,'"

raising the possibility of mistranslation during the interview translation process.

A political dispute arose over whether the subject of the predicate 'cannot accept' was Japan or President Yoon, and eventually, the WP reporter who conducted the interview released the interview transcript. The transcript released by the WP reporter showed President Yoon saying, "I cannot accept this, saying 'kneel unconditionally,'" revealing that the subject of the sentence was President Yoon.

Regarding this, Chief Spokesperson Yoo retracted his claim on the 25th, saying, "I was insufficient in fact-checking."

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