[News NIGHT] Gongjo-beon, Yoon's second summons...Shall we respond this time?

■ Host: Anchor Sung Moon-gyu
■ Starring: Yoon Hee-seok, spokesman for the People's Power, Sung Chi-hoon, vice chairman of the Minjoo Party's Policy Committee

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN NewsNIGHT] when quoting.

[Anchor]
It's time for "Focus Night" to point out the news of political interest. Today, we will be joined by Yoon Hee-seok, spokesman for People's Power, and Sung Chi-hoon, vice chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee. Hello, both of you. Spokesman Yoon, it's been a while since you came out, right?

[Yoon Heesuk]
It's been a long time since I came out at night.

[Anchor]
I look forward to your kind cooperation. The Joint Investigation Headquarters, which includes the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, sent a second request for attendance to President Yoon today. President Yoon refused to receive the first request for attendance and refused to comply with the summons, but this is the most interesting thing.

[Yoon Hee-seok]
There is a situation where the formation of the defense team is ostensibly delayed for now. So, I think it's more difficult to respond than not responding to the summons request. This time, on the 25th, didn't you get a summons notification on the holiday? Since it's a holiday, there may be less burden on security. In that sense, didn't the investigative agency set a date for notification of subpoena in consideration of that to some extent? Then, in the meantime, there are many predictions that President Yoon may be ready and respond to the summons.

[Anchor]
In fact, the first summons notified me on the 16th and told me to attend on the 18th, so I had about two days, and this time, it's next Wednesday, so I think I have a little more than enough time. What do you think, Mr. Sung?

[Sung Chi Hoon]
Since the president said he would not avoid political and legal responsibility and would stand up to it confidently, he should have responded to the demand in the first summons, but he was not confident. That's why I think you should come out because you have enough time to respond to the second round of summons as you just said. However, given that the appointment of lawyers has not been completed in the first round, it is not possible to rule out the possibility that the president's lawyers will not respond to the request for the second summons under the pretext. But if that happens, I don't know, most of the important civil war mission workers are being arrested or investigated rapidly, and I would like to say that there is no difference if the president refuses to the end and drags on like this.

[Anchor]
So, both of the lawyers are talking, so to tell you again, there are some saying that it is difficult to form a defense team, and that it is deliberately delaying the formation of a defense team. What are you talking about?

[Sung Chi Hoon]
Actually, it's hard to confirm that. That's why it's going to the Constitutional Court, so it's actually good for people like constitutional experts or former constitutional judges, but all the information that's coming out now is only going to President Yoon Suk Yeol's prosecution lines and former prosecutors. In fact, such lawyers are not a good composition to defend President Yoon Suk Yeol because only those who are specialized in rumors are coming out. That's why, as the anchor said, there seems to be some facts that the lawyers are not coming forward. Nevertheless, if such a thing is struggling, it is right to organize and start as soon as possible. That's why I want to say that even if some of those things are true, it's just an excuse in the end.

[Anchor]
That's what I'm saying. Kim Hong-il, former chairman of the Korea Communications Standards Commission, came out a little while ago, and Yoon Gap-geun, head of the Daegu High Prosecutor's Office, also said that the outline is included in the defense team.What do you think of the current situation, Ma?

[Yoon Heesuk]
First of all, President Yoon will judge that deliberately delaying it will not help. The failure to cooperate with the investigation during the last trial of former President Park Geun Hye's Constitutional Court influenced the decision to cite the impeachment trial to some extent. It's in the order. You'll also see a lot of that attitude. Since the Constitutional Court's impeachment trial is a disciplinary trial to the end, many people see that as well. So I think it's too much speculation to delay this on purpose. As I said, I think it is reasonable to interpret that the formation of the defense team is delayed, so President Yoon, who legally has to fight with the investigative agency, actually needs time to prepare.

[Anchor]
That's how you see it. However, if they refuse to comply with the second summons, there is a prospect that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit may request an arrest warrant. How do you view this?

[Yoon Heesuk]
You don't have to go to that kind of situation. Even so, although President Yoon's duties have been suspended, he is a sitting president, but he even requests an arrest warrant from the court and executes it. Of course, it's enforced. I would like to say that we should not go to the warrant request and go to the warrant issuance to prevent President Yoon from going to the investigative agency.

[Anchor]
This isn't just a story, but Oh Dong-woon, the head of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, said that on the 17th, right? He said that if he continues to refuse to attend, he will take legal action quickly, and there was also talk of arrest warrants.

[Yoon Heesuk]
It came out. So before that, we say that President Yoon will respond to the summons.

[Anchor]
I see. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of Korea accused President Yoon's lawyer Seok Dong-hyun of propaganda of rebellion. In addition, he has put pressure on Acting President Han Deok-soo to accept the special prosecution law. Let's listen to what he said.

[Park Chan-dae / Minjoo Party floor leader: It's not that herb in that rice, but it's a seasoned herb in that rice. A prosecutor-turned-president caused rebellion in violation of the Constitution, and a lawyer for 40 years made a sophistry that he was not a rebellion. The part about where the civil war is left in two hours is all smiles. It's an obvious civil war if you only ran for 2 minutes instead of 2 hours. ]

[Lee Jae-myung / Minjoo Party leader: Unfortunately, acting president Han Deok-soo is vetoing the bill. In other words, President Yoon Suk Yeol has repeatedly ignored the legislative power of the National Assembly. I hope that the independent counsel law will be quickly promulgated according to the will of the people. I hope that the power of the people, who do not know the fear of the people and are still willing to sympathize with the civil war, will be awakened. I don't know now, but there must be a time when these things accumulate and accumulate and take responsibility for them. ]

[Anchor]
First of all, to talk about lawyer Seok Dong-hyun, Seok is not officially a lawyer for President Yoon. So what the Democratic Party is saying now is that defending President Yoon without taking over the case is an act of propaganda against civil war, right?

[Sung Chi Hoon]
That's how I look at it. When lawyer Seok Dong-hyun appears in the media these days, he says he is the president of Yoon Suk Yeol. That's why it's coming out that way because I haven't been appointed because I haven't been appointed as a lawyer. It is known to have been with President Yoon Suk Yeol for 40 years and is actually the legal representative of President Yoon Suk Yeol, and it plays a role in dealing with this media and exchanging questions and answers with the media. Nevertheless, not formally appointing a lawyer has no choice but to doubt that this is a strategy to delay it on purpose, as I said earlier. In order to defend a suspect accused of rebellion, the attorney can argue that the act does not constitute a crime of rebellion. However, lawyer Seok Dong-hyun is not taking over, so he is actually just a general public. The general public protects the actions of the person suspected of rebellion and sympathizes with this by saying the same sophistry. In that case, we believe that it will inevitably correspond to propaganda of rebellion. On the contrary, lawyer Seok Dong-hyun continued to meet with the media and made a statement that President Yoon Suk Yeol made right after the impeachment. In our view, we claim that everything is sophistry, but we are following those contents, so we are maintaining the position that we cannot continue to watch people who are not formal lawyers say this behavior.

[Anchor]
Then, why do you think Seok Dong-hyun's lawyer keeps coming out even though the defense team hasn't been formed?

[Sung Chi Hoon]
It's for public opinion. We're continuing to tell the conservative and rigid supporters that our defense logic is this, and we're continuing to defend ourselves together.

[Anchor]
What do you think of the spokesman?

[Yoon Heesuk]
That's too much to say. President Yoon didn't start by responding to any judicial procedures. Then it's not the stage to appoint a lawyer. The trial hasn't even started yet. Lawyer Seok Dong-hyun is not talking as an officially appointed lawyer, but rather serves as a kind of spokesman for President Yoon's legal response and the process. In this situation, there is no room for an attorney who has taken over a formal case to intervene, because he hasn't started. So it's an excessive argument to ask why lawyer Seok Dong-hyun comes out when he hasn't officially taken over the case. It also means that lawyer Seok Dong-hyun's role as a spokesman will promote and instigate civil war. Then, after hearing that lawyer Seok Dong-hyun's crime of rebellion cannot be established, someone will rebel. That's too much. I'm saying that's not the case for being accused of rebellion. We can accept saying that we are defending, but it's too much to say that we are propagating the civil war. What part of lawyer Seok Dong-hyun's story is not about promoting civil war, is it? There was no such thing as a past act, no intent to arrest, no arrest. I didn't understand how this would correspond to propaganda and incitement.

[Anchor]
Insurrection is not propaganda, but defense logic against President Yoon.

[Yoon Hee-seok] That's right.

[Anchor]
That's what you see as a spokesperson. Then, the Democratic Party of Korea continues to raise the level of pressure against acting Han Deok-soo. Accept the Special Counsel Act. There are two independent counsel laws right now. The Insurrection Special Prosecutor Act and the Kim Special Prosecutor Act. And he also pressed for a request to recommend a permanent special prosecutor candidate, suggesting impeachment, is there anything in mind? Or how can we see this?

[Sung Chi Hoon]
It's one of two, the permanent special prosecutor and the civil war special prosecutor, isn't it related to the crime of civil war? Since he is a special prosecutor for a rebellion, acting Han Deok-soo is a suspect suspected of being an accomplice for a rebellion. Therefore, this veto is exercised even on bills that may conflict of interest with such persons. If it is the acting president's role to maintain the status quo, the party is criticizing it now, but I can concede that because it is a policy part. Even if we can understand it, the Special Prosecutor Act can be a very serious act that has the possibility of a conflict of interest with the person, so we are arguing that this should never be vetoed by Acting President Han Deok-soo. [Anchor] Acting President Han Deok-soo is directly related to the Insurrection Special Prosecutor Act. [Sung Chi Hoon] Since you're an accomplice and you're a suspect, didn't you come under investigation? If such a person exercises his or her active power against the special prosecutor investigating him or her and the acting authority vetoes him or her, then we see a serious problem. [Anchor] So acting Han Deok-soo is now at the crossroads of choice. First of all, he vetoed six issues. What's left is the special counsel laws and the appointment of a constitutional judge. I'm very interested in what choice I'll make.

[Yoon Heesuk]
First of all, we have not yet done anything about these two independent counsel laws. I can do it until January 1st, if I delay it as much as possible. And our party has not yet decided on these two independent counsel laws. You expect us to ask for a veto, but we haven't decided on our opinion yet. Therefore, acting Han Deok-soo is agonizing between some demands from our party and pressure from the Democratic Party. It's not that kind of situation.

[Anchor]
Last time, I asked you to reject the six-issue bill.

[Yoon Heesuk]
That's right. Isn't there a logic that we've been holding on to? in relation to the financial situation For example, the grain management law takes about 1 trillion won a year and there is a process of changing crops or reducing the area of rice cultivation, but is this law correct? Since we brought this logic all along, of course, we could have asked for a veto. Since these two independent counsel laws have been newly passed, we have yet to decide. That's why Prime Minister Han Duck-soo still has time, so it has to be left to the judgment of acting chief Han Duck-soo for now. You have to look at it like this. Whether to appoint a constitutional judge or not, in fact, can the six justices start an impeachment hearing on the president, which is considered the most important post, and even make a decision? Even if you do it, it is very difficult to recognize it, so you will want the constitution of the Constitutional Court, which is a complete chain of nine people, to heal these procedural flaws. However, as we continue to argue, there is a logic that the Democratic Party of Korea argued at the time, including the position on the right to appoint additional constitutional judges during the impeachment of former President Park Geun Hye, the party leader Choo Mi-ae, floor leader Woo Sang-ho, and legal expert and lawmaker Park Beom-gye. The acting president cannot appoint a constitutional judge. We need to give something new to change that logic. Otherwise, it will float.

[Sung Chi Hoon]
I think I should tell you about that. At that time, it was the appointment of Park Han-chul, the president of the Constitutional Court. That's why I shouldn't make the appointment, and the Constitutional Court Justice Lee Jung-mi, who was named the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court after that. Therefore, the Democratic Party of Korea considered that even that was beyond its authority when it came to the appointment of Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn after that, but the acting president eventually made the appointment. The remaining three portions are now up to the National Assembly's recommendation. So, because it's up to the legislature, it's actually just a formal signing, so I'm arguing that we should exercise our passive authority.

[Anchor]
With the recommendation subject, the Democratic Party continues to insist. Anyway, let's have a confirmation hearing next week and see how the plenary session will proceed and then Prime Minister Han Deok-soo's choice. Let's move on to the people's power situation. Conflicts within the ruling party over the impeachment of President Yoon continue. The recording of the general meeting of the lawmakers, which was behind the passing of the impeachment bill, was leaked, causing controversy. In addition, some first-term and small-time lawmakers are complaining of isolation. Let's listen to it for ourselves.

[Kwon Seong-dong / Acting People's Power Party leader: First, the maliciously edited transcript was reported. It is a clear act that the voices of such an important meeting, called the general meeting of lawmakers, have been leaked as it is. Spurring distrust and division of the party with a specific intention is not desirable for the member concerned and is an act that harms the party. Please take care of yourself, everyone. ]

[Kim Sang-wook / Member of the People's Power (CBS Radio 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show'): Of course, I couldn't go to the general meeting (after impeachment) because I'm treated like a heresy in my party. I'm feeling isolated that I can't get in here and there. I'd like to ask you that. Who is the traitor, and who is the traitor of conservatism? Why should CEO Han Dong-hoon be a traitor to conservatives and be attacked by water bottles and subjected to abusive language? How a person who keeps the value of conservatism becomes a traitor and a Yoon Suk Yeol who destroyed the value of conservatism is a real traitor. ]

[Anchor]
First of all, let's look at the recording of the president. We prepared the graphic without playing the recording ourselves. First of all, Lee was the president of the People's Power just after the impeachment bill was passed on the 14th, and various things were said. It is impossible to serve as a party leader against Han Dong-hoon. So CEO Han Dong-hoon said, "I didn't do emergency martial law. There were also opinions that a resolution should be made to urge the resignation of the party leader. There was also a statement that water bottles went back and forth in the meantime. A lot of harsh words went back and forth. How is the spokesperson aware of this situation at this time?

[Yoon Heesuk]
I have to understand that it was a very angry situation. Since it was just after the impeachment bill was passed, it was passed by a very small margin with the party deciding to reject it. So the majority of those MPs who voted against 85 votes can't feel good. But from our point of view, it's like this. On the 12th, when there was a controversy between then representative Han Dong-hoon and lawmakers at the general meeting of the lawmakers on Thursday last week, the situation was broadcast live across the country. Even the lawmakers' real names came out and they said, "You have to use honorifics," so a very rough scene went out on the airwaves. It was a very unfortunate scene.

[Anchor]
At that time, representative Han Dong-hoon confessed to the civil war right after President Yoon Suk Yeol's statement. There was a story like that.

[Yoon Heesuk]
As we talked about it, the members who protested a lot were revealed, so everyone, including those who support our party, was very disappointed in us. This time, however, the general meeting of lawmakers took place two days later, right after the impeachment motion was passed. The situation was a little worse. Of course, there's no screen.From our point of view, we are very afraid of how the public will accept that the general assembly of the public party will proceed like that, regardless of whether it is the act or not.

[Anchor]
So some say that we need to find out who leaked it. At that time, there was also talk of finding out who voted for it at the general meeting.

[Sung Chi Hoon]
I want to ask again if the power of the people is the conservative party of the Republic of Korea. So let's find out who's voted for it while breaking the secret ballot that's guaranteed in the spirit of the Constitution, which is guaranteed a secret ballot, this is a very serious problem. I think what Representative Kim Sang-wook said when he courageously voted for the first impeachment. What is the true value of conservatism? Isn't it protecting the constitution? I vote against it now to protect the Constitution, but I will vote for it at the next second round. I thought it was a true conservative politician who expressed that position. That's why the people's power is now able to hold parliamentary meetings, discussions, and maintain their qualifications as a public party because 12 courageous votes were cast in the impeachment vote, and if they continued to vote against it along the party line. I think the pressure of the people will still be on the strength of the people, so I should thank them, and then let's talk about how to deal with the party once the results are like this, but let's turn them into traitors and find them. I would like to say that the power of the people is willing to rise as a conservative party and a party supported by the people.

[Anchor]
I think I should ask Yoon Hee-seok, the spokesman, but he claims that he is being treated as an outcast and a heresy within the party. What is it like in real life?

[Yoon Heesuk]
Representative Kim Sang-wook can feel that way. Wasn't there a one-man protest between the first and second impeachment votes in the middle? At that time, of course, many members of our party or the Democratic Party of Korea had already come in front of the main gate of the National Assembly and encouraged them, and I saw a representative wearing a scarf while shaking hands, but there were many who just passed by. Given such a situation, it would be a very difficult situation for Kim Sang-wook individually in this situation where the impeachment bill was passed in a very heated atmosphere of our party. Will it be an environment where Rep. Kim Sang-wook can shake hands, greet, and chat with someone freely in the Yeouido National Assembly? Regarding that, I think it's what Representative Kim Sang-wook just said, it's possible.

[Anchor]
Isn't the People's Power working on selecting the emergency chairman in the midst of this? Like Na Kyung-won and Kwon Young-se, there are also five-term senior members, and in general, there are talks about Kim Jae-seop, a younger member, and Yoon Hee-sook, a former lawmaker. Is this real? How do you figure it out?

[Yoon Heesuk]
Kwon Sung-dong, floor leader of the party, reportedly met with former lawmaker Yoon Hee-sook in person and recommended her take the chairmanship of the emergency committee. However, former lawmaker Yoon Hee-sook refused. This much is being reported. As far as I know, Rep. Kim Jae-seop also declined, about the chairmanship of the emergency committee. Then, why did these two die? There must be many questions about that. In our judgment, even if they become the chairman of the emergency committee, the situation itself is very difficult to penetrate with the role, capability, and authority of the emergency committee chairman. Rep. Kim Sang Wook gave me an example.After the impeachment, Ma's party is so rough and stubborn about those who voted for impeachment that it is difficult to lead the party well in this situation, no matter who becomes the emergency committee chairman, he must have had a lot of such burden. That's why many people in the party say that it is better now to head the emergency committee for lawmakers such as Na Kyung-won and Kwon Young-se, who have a lot of players and have a lot of political experience.

[Anchor]
So, if you go to the 5th term like that, even within the power of the people, you are concerned that the image of pro-Yoon and anti-impeachment will continue to solidify. What do you think of the opposition party outside?

[Sung Chi Hoon]
In fact, it is not about who will become the chairman of the emergency committee of the people's power, but the one-top system and the two-top system are not important at all. Will the power of the people follow the position held by President Yoon Suk Yeol in this impeachment process? Will he be in line with Yoon Suk Yeol's president, who continues to oppose impeachment and talks about the legitimacy of emergency martial law? I think it is a stage to discuss fiercely whether the power of the people will cross the river of impeachment and the river of Yoon Suk Yeol after 2016. Naturally, I believe that in order for the power of the people to be normalized, it is wrong to cross the river and separate the president from the party and leave the impeachment to the Constitutional Court. Since there are a lot of talks about whether there was no choice but to do emergency martial law or not, the question of whether to go that way or not is important, but I don't think who becomes the emergency committee chairman is that important.

[Anchor]
Anyway, will the results come out early next week?

[Yoon Heesuk]
I'll have to do it that quickly. There is no formal party leadership in the party now, and the floor leader is acting as the party leader. I think it is the right thing for the people to do to show the leadership to stabilize and deal with this chaos as the ruling party, so we are trying to finish the formation of the leadership as soon as possible.

[Anchor]
Then, the results of today's poll came out to see what public opinion is like in the political world. According to a poll, the Democratic Party's leadership led the People's Power leadership by the largest gap since the launch of the Yoon Suk Yeol government, which is a Gallup poll. It came out today, and in terms of party support, the Democratic Party of Korea has 48% and the power of the people is 24%. The Democratic Party of Korea has now doubled by 8 percentage points from last week. As you can see, it has risen from 40 percent to 48 percent, the power of the people has been maintained, and the Cho Kuk Innovation Party and the New Reform Party have been cut in half, although the figures are small. I wonder how you interpret this.

[Sung Chi Hoon]
Although it is in the Democratic Party of Korea, I don't think the Democratic Party has done so well that it has such a high approval rating. The Democratic Party of Korea needs to show humility to the people so that the impeachment can proceed humbly because the people's power is seen as increasing as a reflective benefit because President Yoon Suk Yeol's rare emergency martial law and illegal behavior. Public opinion can really change overnight if it leads to mistakes or things like that. That's why we shouldn't take advantage of the relatively high approval rating of the Democratic Party because the people's power is sluggish right now, I'd like to say this.

[Anchor]
He said that he gained reflective profits and that he should be humble, but what stands out about that graphic is that the support of the people's power has not moved. What kind of interpretation can that be?

[Yoon Heesuk]
Unfortunately, it's my second time experiencing impeachment. Some say that it is less shocking than the first impeachment of former President Park Geun Hye. I think it is influenced by the perception of impeachment by our party's supporters who think about the second impeachment rather than less shock. If there was such a strong shock wave on the conservative right that the first impeachment of President Park Geun Hye was so shocking that it would cause a sharp drop in support, the situation at the time of impeachment, in addition to the second, eventually led to impeachment. When impeachment was really cited in the Constitutional Court, the consequences were too great. There is also an aspect in which such a thing of the supporters played a role. But just because that approval rating is maintained to some extent, there is nothing good for us. There's a double difference. Impeachment, the passing of the impeachment bill against the president we produced through the National Assembly, is a huge wound. So we have to get rid of this quickly, but anyway, in order to have a good time in this difficult situation, we have to organize the leadership system quickly.

[Anchor]
There was also a survey of preferences for the next president. I'll take a look at the graphic and talk about it. Representative Lee Jae-myung took the lead completely alone. I was first in the previous survey.37% of Ma preferred CEO Lee Jae-myung. CEO Han Dong-hoon got too small, 5%. 5% of the Hong Joon Pyo market. After that, Cho Kuk, Oh Se-hoon, Kim Moon-soo, Lee Joon-seok, Yoo Seung Min, Ahn Cheol Soo, and Chairman Woo Won-sik. Even if the rest of the runners were combined, the figure fell short of representative Lee Jae-myung.

[Sung Chi Hoon]
I think that's a clear indication of the situation in the conservative party right now. I have no choice but to repeat what I said earlier, but what kind of politician will show up and talk about to cross the River of Impeachment, and lead it. I think the next presidential candidate and the conservative party's presidential candidate will be determined by that. This is because the conservative party has been in disarray since the impeachment of President Park Geun Hye in 2016, and the reason why it was able to win the 2022 presidential and local elections was when representative Lee Joon-seok led the conservative party, asking to cross the impeachment river. That's why the current situation is the same. Of course, the impeachment bill has passed and the Constitutional Court has yet to make a ruling, but I think the conservative party's support for the presidential candidate will change depending on how wisely the process can be carried out at the public's eye level and who leads the message.

[Anchor]
In terms of the power of the people, I wonder what it would be like to see this graphic, today's poll, but Gallup Korea analyzed it like this. The ruling party is now virtually absent from the center after passing the presidential impeachment motion. Do you agree?

[Yoon Heesuk]
I think that's the right analysis. Former representative Han Dong-hoon was a potential presidential candidate who could respond to representative Lee Jae-myung to some extent. Former representative Han Dong-hoon was forced to resign as if he had been kicked out of the impeachment, and his approval rating was similar to that of representative Lee Jae-myung, but now it is almost incomparable. I fell a lot. Even if our party's candidate and representative Lee Joon-seok's approval rating were combined, it was less than 20%. Then, since it is only half of representative Lee Jae-myung, we can't even look at the possibility of winning if we hold a presidential election right now. This is a situation in which people from our party can be viewed as leaders when considering the next leader in the aftermath of impeachment, and I don't think it's a situation that the people can recognize. So, I think it is a situation where the shock wave has continued to sound since the impeachment, and wouldn't the results of the investigation be meaningful at a time when this is sorted out to some extent? I think we're in the stage of dealing with it more, and we're at the stage of working on it.

[Anchor]
So, there are talks about whether Han Dong-hoon, who has just left, will make a comeback again, and the results show that National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik ranked first in credibility last week, and there is also a view toward National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik. I'll stop talking about today. So far, he has been joined by Yoon Hee-seok, spokesman for People's Power, and Sung Chi-hoon, vice chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee. Thank you both.