Kim Yunhyeong: "Kim Eo-jun's Entrepreneurial Instincts on Display," Ha Heongi: "Jung Cheongrae Should Withdraw from the Race" [So Jongseop's Current Affairs Show]

Ha Heongi: "Moon-Jo-Tol-Lae-Yu is Being Dismantled"

Kim Yunhyeong: "Jung Cheongrae Cannot Drop Out of the Race"

Ha Heongi: "Cold Medicine Ingredients? That's Prosecutor's Talk, Not Politics"

■ Broadcast: The Asia Business Daily's 'So Jongseop's Current Affairs Show' (Mon~Fri, 4~5 PM)

■ Host: So Jongseop, Political Specialist ■ Director: Park Sumin, Producer

■ Guests: Kim Yunhyeong, former full-time spokesperson of the People Power Party; Ha Heongi, former full-time spokesperson of the Democratic Party of Korea (July 9)

※ When citing this article, please make sure to specify 'So Jongseop's Current Affairs Show'.

So Jongseop: Former Prime Minister Kim Minseok appeared on Kim Eo-jun's News Factory, didn't he? Not only did former Prime Minister Kim appear, but somehow, they managed to obtain and show a video, essentially summarizing the allegations against him on News Factory. What do you think about this?

Ha Heongi: I think each side is trying to dismantle 'Moon-Jo-Tol-Lae-Yu' in their own way. Up until last week—or even the week before—‘Moon-Jo-Tol-Lae-Yu’ was used a lot, but it started to subside after President Lee Jaemyung and former President Moon Jaein met. Then, when Assemblywoman Koh Minjeong announced her candidacy, there was another split, and now the consensus seems to be that former President Moon Jaein should be left out. So now it's just 'Jo-Tol-Lae-Yu'. Former Representative Jung Cheongrae and President Moon Jaein have been separated, but Kim Eo-jun, Cho Kuk, and Rhyu Si-min have not. I think everyone is working to separate themselves. In this phase, it's Kim Eo-jun and Jung Cheongrae's separation. I’ve heard through the grapevine that author Rhyu Si-min is planning to launch his own personal channel. If that happens, won’t everything be dismantled? Perhaps each felt wronged, or that this isn’t what they wanted. It seems like Kim Eo-jun is now saying, 'I don’t want to take sides at the party convention.' That’s my interpretation.

Kim Yunhyeong: To put it bluntly, I see Kim Eo-jun as a political hustler, but to put it nicely, I’d call him a political entrepreneur. I think his entrepreneurial instincts kicked in. What felt strange to me was that the Democratic Party panelists often said that Kim Eo-jun was no longer just influential but was actually acting as a player, and so they needed to break away from him. Then, former Prime Minister Kim Minseok appeared and released the CCTV footage, right? That CCTV tape could only have been obtained by Kim Minseok himself, probably by requesting it from the National Assembly Secretariat. If Kim Eo-jun was the first to release that video, it could be interpreted as acknowledging his influence to some extent. That made me wonder, what is really going on here?

Ha Heongi: For a candidate, it makes sense to go where the most voters are. If I were on the campaign team and the candidate said, ‘I don’t want to appear on the Kim Eo-jun channel,’ I would say, 'That’s not acceptable; you need to go where the most voters are.' I’d advise them not to sing or do anything frivolous there, but expressing their views on the channel would be fine.

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Ha Heongi: From my perspective, it looks like they’re splitting off. Cho Kuk is waving his own flag, Jung Cheongrae is doing his own thing, and so on. I think we’re seeing a process of decoupling.

So Jongseop: It seems that former Representative Jung Cheongrae is in quite a lonely situation now.

Ha Heongi: As I mentioned earlier, several groups are criticizing Representative Jung Cheongrae based on their own interests. Their objectives are different, but the methods are the same, so it must be quite painful for him. However, since Jung Cheongrae has not been engaged in politics that resonates with the majority of citizens, I think that's why this is happening.

So Jongseop: Some people think that former Representative Jung might drop out of the race.

Ha Heongi: There are reasonable people who think, 'At this point, wouldn't he withdraw?' But if you look at the attitude of the so-called pro-Jung faction lawmakers, they seem to believe that if they stay in the race, they can win.They typically think, 'Don’t we have democratic legitimacy and justification? I’ll prove it by getting votes from the party members.'In such situations, it’s not easy to withdraw. The reason I call it a misjudgment is that even if you step down or yield, people don’t say, 'You’re finished.' Rather, they might view it positively, thinking, 'He gave way for the sake of stability and to work well with the President.'

So Jongseop: If you were to personally advise former Representative Jung, what would you say?

Ha Heongi: I’d advise him to step back. If he yields and delivers a convincing message explaining his reasons, another opportunity will come. That’s how political life tends to work, in my experience.

So Jongseop: So even now, it would be better not to run?

Ha Heongi: If he thinks this is his last chance, he’ll start fighting hard. In elections like this, you end up hurting your fellow party members a lot. After such a fierce contest, the aftermath will leave no opportunity.

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Kim Yunhyeong: Rationally, that's the right course, but I don't think he'll do it. Judging by the messages from pro-Jung lawmakers, the rhetoric is quite strong—they've crossed the line. If this escalates further, I think they might even end up saying 'See you in court before the party convention.' That’s how intense things are getting now. It's not as though Representative Jung Cheongrae is trying to stop it, either. In the end, it will continue. I think he believes he will win. It's now too late for former Representative Jung to turn back, so I don't think he can withdraw from the race. I also don't think President Lee Jaemyung is in a position to offer him an exit strategy.

Ha Heongi: Even Assemblyman Han Donghoon doesn't call for revealing the ingredients in cold medicine. That's something a prosecutor asks during an investigation, not a politician. And since the CCTV footage was released, a straightforward apology would have been best, but for some reason, prosecutor-turned-politicians don’t apologize. If the message failed, the right thing is to apologize clearly.

So Jongseop: Former spokesperson Kim Yunhyeong, let me ask you about something. Assemblyman Han Donghoon recently visited Representative Jang Donghyeok’s memorial. There's been a lot of debate about that. What do you think is the background to Han Donghoon's visit to Jang Donghyeok’s memorial?

Kim Yunhyeong: Isn’t there a common custom in society? For happy occasions, you go when you’re invited, but for sad ones, especially funerals, you go if you hear about it. But in this case, Representative Jang Donghyeok’s pain was so great that I understand Assemblyman Han checked whether it was appropriate for a politician to pay respects. At first, he was told not to attend, so he didn't, but later, when he was told it was okay, he went.

So Jongseop: So he checked in advance?

Kim Yunhyeong: That’s my understanding. As for the claim that there was no advance coordination, I’ve just explained the situation. Many people are saying it was media play, but let’s look closely. About 10 reporters were already at the funeral hall at the time. In that situation, even though Assemblyman Han Donghoon and Representative Lee Junseok came and asked not to publish any articles, it would have been extremely difficult to keep it out of the news.

Secondly, after articles came out about them meeting at the funeral, if there had been no additional comments or controversy, it would have ended there. But who actually used this for political gain and manipulated the media? People acting like spokespersons for Representative Jang Donghyeok crossed the line, making outrageous statements and harsh criticisms. That’s what turned this into an issue and made it a topic on political talk shows. I want to ask who is really using Representative Jang Donghyeok’s pain for their own purposes.

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