"‘No Affection’ is Yoon In-tae's Bitter Criticism... ‘Yoon, Even If Lee Jae-myung is a Criminal Suspect, You Should Meet Him’"

Senior Opposition Figure Yuin Tae to Deliver Public Sympathy Lecture on the 9th
Criticizes People Power Party's Turbulent 'Nomination' Situation

Former National Assembly Secretary-General Yoo In-tae delivered sharp criticism on the 9th at the People Power Party's pro-Yoon (pro-Yoon Seok-yeol) faction study group 'Gukmin Gonggam' (National Sympathy). Amid growing internal strife within the ruling party, sparked by recent remarks from People Power Party Supreme Council member Tae Young-ho and allegations of presidential office interference in candidate nominations, Yoo revealed an anecdote from the 17th National Assembly election during the late President Roh Moo-hyun's administration, where only one proportional representation candidate requested nomination, offering a solution. Yoo is a senior opposition figure who served as a three-term Democratic Party lawmaker and Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Blue House during the Roh administration.

On the morning of the same day, Yoo spoke as a lecturer at the Gukmin Gonggam seminar held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building, starting with, "Originally, harsh criticism should come from affection, but there is little affection in this party." He explained, "These days, people say they are all hung up on People Power Party nominations and are overly anxious. I think the best way is not for the party leadership to intervene but to leave everything to the primaries. If you keep trying to do something artificially, various side effects will only arise."

There are signs of internal conflict as stories circulate that many former prosecutors will receive nominations, especially in the traditional stronghold of the People Power Party in the Yeongnam region, and the controversy over presidential office interference in nominations has intensified due to the recorded remarks of Supreme Council member Tae Young-ho.

Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, along with the leadership and former Secretary General of the National Assembly Yoo In-tae, are shouting slogans at the Public Sympathy Study Meeting held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 9th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

In response, Yoo compared the situations of the Uri Party and the People Power Party. He said, "Back then, almost everything was left to primaries, and many people supported by then-party leader Jeong Dong-young lost in the primaries. For example, Jeong Cheong-rae from Mapo, who had no backing, won the primary and has served several terms since," adding, "Former President Roh Moo-hyun requested only one proportional representation candidate, a human rights lawyer from Busan."

He also emphasized the need to amend political relations laws. Yoo stated, "Political relations laws should be made so that people can comply, but currently, no one can follow them. Everyone operates local party offices, but that is illegal. Meetings have to be held in coffee shops because holding party meetings in offices is illegal, and some have even been fined. Political relations laws that no one follows must be boldly revised." Regarding the Political Funds Act, he explained, "When you are an incumbent, you can have a support committee, but if you are not, you cannot receive a single penny. Where else is there such a law? People close to you should be able to give money to help you do better."

Regarding electoral system reform, Yoo highly praised a multi-party system. He said, "What if we had about three to four major parties each holding around 100 seats, and two other parties holding about 30 seats each? Our society has become that diversified, so isn't that necessary?"

Yoo also directed criticism at President Yoon Seok-yeol. In response to a question about how to resolve extreme confrontations between the ruling and opposition parties, Yoo said, "President Yoon should have met with Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader, even if he was a criminal suspect. I think that should have been the priority." He pointed out, "Former People Power Party floor leader Kwon Seong-dong accepted the 'Park Byeong-seok mediation plan' for the prosecution reform bill and got it approved at a party meeting, but it was overturned. I think the presidential office is most at fault for that." Kwon had accepted the bill proposed by former Speaker Park during the so-called 'complete removal of prosecution investigation rights' (Geomsu Wanbak) legislation in May last year but withdrew the agreement due to strong opposition within the party.

The lecture was organized to promote reform within the People Power Party. Park Soo-young, the planning secretary of Gukmin Gonggam who invited Yoo as a lecturer, told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "Until now, we mainly invited ministers to study the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's policies, but to mark the president's first anniversary, we wanted to hear harsh criticism from the opposition." He added, "We thought inviting incumbents would only bring partisan talks, so we invited a senior figure who knows old politics." They plan to invite opposition figures in the future as well. Park said, "If there are good people when needed, we will invite them," adding, "It's a study group, so there's no reason not to invite them."

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