Kim Jaewon: "If Yoon-Han Trust Had Existed, a Private Meeting Would Have Taken Place... Heavy Heart"

"A Usually Warm Atmosphere... Feels Like Inter-Korean Dialogue"

On the 24th, President Yoon Seok-yeol and the leadership of the People Power Party held a dinner meeting, but the private meeting between President Yoon and People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon was effectively canceled. Regarding this, Kim Jae-won, a senior member of the People Power Party, raised his voice, saying, "The request for a private meeting became an uncomfortable situation as it was disclosed to the media in advance."

Kim Jae-won, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Senior member Kim appeared on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' that day and said, "If there was a position of trust, such a conversation would have proceeded privately without the need to be released to the media."

He continued, "When I was the Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Presidential Office or the floor leader at the party, it was common for the president and party leader to say, 'Let's have a quick talk, I have something to say,' and have a standing conversation," adding, "The fact that the request for a private meeting was disclosed to the media itself indicates a lowered level of trust between the party and the government."

Senior member Kim also expressed discomfort about holding a dinner meeting amid the exposure of discord between the party and the government, saying, "My heart feels heavy." He said, "Usually, when the president invites for dinner, it is a comfortable occasion for warm and friendly conversation," and added, "Because recent issues are complicated, it has become an atmosphere like a North-South dialogue, where this opportunity is used to talk."

Regarding the allegations of Kim Geon-hee's interference in candidate nominations, he emphasized that it is a political attack targeting the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. Senior member Kim said, "The people who lost the nominations are the main subjects of the allegations, and the main story is that I lost the nomination because Kim Geon-hee did not help," adding, "There are many rumors about the nominations, but packaging this as Kim Geon-hee's fault seems to have a kind of (political) purpose."

Furthermore, he said, "Overall, as a crisis comes to the entire ruling party, Kim Geon-hee, as the weakest link, is being attacked a lot," and added, "The Presidential Office should establish a good external publicity strategy to block various attack materials."

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