[Current Affairs Show] Ha Heongi: "Kim Eo-jun Should Be Sued if He Doesn’t Apologize"

Lee Donghun: "Alliance with Han Donghun Only Possible After an Apology"
Ha Heongi: "Yoo Si-min Is Divisive and Arrogant"

■ Broadcast: The Asia Business Daily’s ‘So Jongseop’s News Show’ (Mon-Fri, 4–5 PM)

■ Host: Political Specialist So Jongseop ■ Producer: PD Lee Kyungdo

■ Guests: Lee Donghun, Chief Spokesperson of the Reform Party; Ha Heongi, former Standing Deputy Spokesperson of the Democratic Party of Korea (March 19)

※ When quoting from this article, please be sure to cite ‘So Jongseop’s News Show’ as the source.

So Jongseop: Hello, everyone. Welcome to So Jongseop’s News Show. Today, we’ll have a lively talk on current issues with Lee Donghun, Chief Spokesperson of the Reform Party, and Ha Heongi, former Standing Deputy Spokesperson of the Democratic Party of Korea. Welcome to the show.

Lee Donghun, Ha Heongi: Hello.

So Jongseop: Writer Yoo Si-min’s comments on Maebul Show have become a hot topic. He divided Democratic Party supporters into Groups A, B, and C, and said, "Those who are currently riding on the pro-Myung bandwagon will be the first to throw stones and flee when a crisis hits," emphasizing the importance of traditional support bases. What are your thoughts on this?

Ha Heongi: "Yoo Si-min’s remarks are narrow-minded, short-sighted, and divisive"

Ha Heongi: That’s a classic example of divisive framing. Usually, when you divide groups and say, “they’re an interest group, and we’re a value group,” that’s what we call ‘dividing the ranks.’Even Yoo Si-min himself, when he was younger, acted like the current New-Lee Jae-myung supporters. As we move into the era of President Lee Jaemyung, new supporters are joining the ranks. The mainstream support base now holding the new hegemony has always called the traditional support base outdated. New elements are sometimes established and sometimes left as legacies—it’s a natural flow. Rather than labeling the newly joined New-Lee Jae-myung supporters as an interest-based group, it would be better to see them as a symbol of the party’s expansion and welcome them. From this perspective, I believe such comments are very narrow-minded, short-sighted, and ultimately divisive.

Lee Donghun: There are people who are value-driven and people who are pragmatic and focused on their interests. That’s only natural. But politicians are supposed to unite such people. I don’t think it makes sense to separate values and interests as distinct categories. Why should values and interests be separated? The value of politics should be pursuing the communal interest. I’m not sure what Yoo Si-min is thinking, but I believe the very act of dividing people into those who are value-driven and those who are interest-driven is flawed. It’s not even a new concept; it’s just another version of the Ming-Qing war analogy. They may have reworded it to sound flashier, but the substance is the same.

Ha Heongi: He’s dividing the supporters, isn’t he? Logically and mathematically, Yoo Si-min’s argument is inherently contradictory. What criteria, what data, are used to distinguish value-oriented supporters from interest-oriented ones? The key issue here is the stance on prosecution reform, isn’t it? When prosecution reform passes as a government bill or through party-government consultation, what benefit does the so-called ‘interest-based’ support group receive? There is no benefit for the supporters. That’s why I think the argument itself is highly contradictory and arrogant.

Lee Donghun: He’s now taking the Qing Dynasty’s position. Currently, Yoo Si-min is attacking the Ming faction from the Qing’s point of view, claiming, “The Ming people have these characteristics—in other words, they’re opportunists. They stick close to Lee Jaemyung now that he’s president, pretending to be close, but eventually, they’ll be the first to betray him.” That’s just calling them opportunists. Hardliners often use this tactic to criticize people with centrist tendencies. They accuse them of being the most cowardly, hopping from one side to another. But in reality, the same holds true for the conservative camp as well. Those who ruin the conservative camp are the ‘Taliban-like’ extremists.

Lee Donghun: "A different frame of the Ming-Qing war over control of the August party convention"

So Jongseop: In the end, isn’t it fair to say that, behind the scenes, there’s a struggle for control among factions ahead of the August party convention in the ruling camp?

Ha Heongi: It would be a lie to deny it. Each support group has its preferred candidates.Given the flow of hegemony in politics, as you just mentioned, it’s inevitable that such elements exist.

Lee Donghun: He’s created a new frame for the Ming-Qing war. They keep talking about the Ming-Qing war, but the purpose is obvious. “From the Qing’s perspective, we’re not that different from President Lee Jaemyung. Our thoughts align with President Lee. The problem is the opportunists who have attached themselves to him and are leading him astray. President Lee himself is not the issue.” That’s what Jeong Cheongrae said on Kim Eo-jun’s show. The frame is to label the strange figures surrounding the Ming as opportunists and bad people.

Ha Heongi: It’s hard to say directly that you disagree with the President, so the argument is that the people around him are not advising him properly or are misleading him. How could Chief Presidential Secretary Woo Sangho, Minister Jeong Seongho, and Minister Yoon Hojoong possibly deceive the President? In reality, government bills are all approved and come out through proper channels. If you’ve watched even one State Council meeting through to the end, you’d know that’s not the case. I believe, with the noise growing inside the ruling camp, the President made a compromise as the person overseeing state affairs.

So Jongseop: What do you think about Jeong Cheongrae’s appearance on Kim Eo-jun’s show?

Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 20th. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Lee Donghun: He claimed, “Our arguments were accepted as they were,” but blamed the sycophants around the President for not conveying things properly. He’s saying that President Lee Jaemyung is now on their side. In the end, he declared victory in the prosecution reform debate. He’s managing his support base by making such claims. So, from Jeong Cheongrae’s perspective, his appearance was natural, as he must rely on the fandom managed by Kim Eo-jun in the August party convention, making them his allies and riding their support into the convention.

Ha Heongi: "Kim Eo-jun must issue a correction and apology, and if not, he should be sued"

Ha Heongi: Prosecution reform is not about winning or losing. It’s a matter of policy. The focus should be on improving public service functions and reaching agreement on that, not on which hardline or government faction wins. So you mentioned earlier that the Qing won the Ming-Qing war, and while that’s a possible view from a political perspective, I don’t see it that way. Two of the hardliners’ strongest demands—dismissing all prosecutors and reappointing them, and changing the title of Prosecutor General—were not accepted. The remaining issue is the supplementary investigation authority, and the items passed now will need to be revisited when that debate resumes. It’s not a matter of who won or lost; rather, I’d say prosecution reform has taken a step forward.

Secondly, it’s up to each politician to appear on News Factory or not. However, what I want to point out is that Kim Eo-jun, the host of News Factory, has called conspiracy theories aired there the responsibility of individual reporters. But I completely disagree. He called them “scoops” and presented them as news reports, not just commentary or opinion, but as facts. That’s a mistake—he spread false and fake news.

The Democratic Party of Korea’s media reform stance is that punitive damages should be imposed for false or distorted reporting. So if News Factory is treated leniently as a media outlet but lawsuits are filed against other media, then it will be criticized for being lenient toward friendly outlets and gagging critical ones. Systems and institutions should be applied universally and fairly.

Because the standards of media reform would be shaken, Kim Eo-jun must be asked to issue a correction and an apology. If he refuses, then he must be sued or held accountable in some way. Only then will it be fair when the system is applied to other media as well. As the ruling party, they must apply the same standards consistently and clearly. If not, the bill should be withdrawn. If the law is applied favorably to one’s own camp and unfavorably to the other, it’s nothing but a tool for political retaliation, and such actions deserve criticism even within the party.

So Jongseop: There’s talk about a possible alliance among Oh Sehoon, Lee Junseok, and Han Donghoon. Do you think it’s realistic?

Lee Donghun: "A Lee Junseok–Han Donghoon alliance would only be possible if the former Han faction apologizes first"

Lee Donghun: It’s not very realistic. How could they form an alliance ahead of local elections? Mayor Oh Sehoon is close to Lee Junseok, so he might support him emotionally. But since the Reform Party candidate has already been confirmed, is an alliance likely? Even after the local elections, if we consider a broader realignment of the conservative camp, then maybe they should merge. “Yoon Again” anti-election forces are supporting Leader Jang Donghyuk and openly declaring they won’t step aside and want to keep party leadership. In that context, arguments about the necessity of an O–Lee–Han alliance are being made. I agree that it’s necessary and should happen.

However, there’s one point to make regarding Han Donghoon. To use an analogy, former leader Han was like a school bully to Lee Junseok. During President Yoon Seokyeol’s time, as Minister of Justice and interim leader, Han didn’t directly oust Lee Junseok, but as a co-founder and crown prince of the administration, he shares responsibility. For instance, former Supreme Council member Kim Jonghyuk was an interim leader back then, and he criticized Lee Junseok for taking political disputes to court, saying something to that effect, though I don’t recall the exact wording.

On that point, they should show some reflection and offer an apology for their actions. They can’t just pretend nothing happened and call for an alliance now. Those emotional issues need to be resolved. And let me be clear: we must also criticize and keep President Lee Jaemyung in check. From that standpoint, an alliance with former leader Han Donghoon is certainly possible, but a prerequisite is at least an apology or expression of regret about the past.

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform Party (right), is seen shouting "Fighting" after presenting the letter of recommendation and an election campaign jumper to Kim Jeongcheol, Supreme Council member nominated as the Seoul mayoral candidate, at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 19th. Photo by Yonhap News.

Ha Heongi: Those in the conservative camp should recognize that Lee Junseok was a presidential candidate. I think he should be recognized and respected as a presidential contender within the conservative camp. People might have preferences or disagreements, but as parties within the same conservative camp, he should be acknowledged as a presidential candidate.Even if candidates from the current Jang Donghyuk leadership run with their own campaign committees, as long as they’re from the People Power Party, Lee Junseok cannot form an official alliance. I recall he has drawn that line several times.

Ha Heongi: "The conservative camp should recognize and respect Lee Junseok as a presidential candidate"

If they truly want an alliance, they need to reform. Recognizing him as a presidential contender and leader is one thing, but I also don’t quite understand the former Han Donghoon camp. Pro-Han figures attack the Reform Party harshly on TV and elsewhere. For people supposedly wanting an alliance, that stance and behavior don’t match up. If they want an alliance, they should show more respect and reach out, but instead, they keep being critical.

So Jongseop: That’s all for today. We’ve been speaking with Lee Donghun, Chief Spokesperson of the Reform Party, and Ha Heongi, former Standing Deputy Spokesperson of the Democratic Party of Korea. Thank you both for your time.

Lee Donghun, Ha Heongi: Thank you.

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