[News NIGHT] Myung Tae Gyun's Kakao Talk conversation was released...Suspicion of 'public opinion manipulation' is also controversial.

■ Hosted by: anchor Sung Moon-gyu
■ Starring: Eom Kyung-young, director of the Center for Spiritual Research in the Age, Park Won-seok, former lawmaker of the Justice Party

* 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 a focus night time to point out the news of political interest. Today, Eom Kyung-young, the head of the Institute for Spiritual Research in the Era, and Park Won-seok, a former member of the Justice Party, came How are you? He's a key figure in the suspicion of nomination intervention. As Myung Tae-kyun released the Kakao Talk messages he exchanged with First Lady Kim Gun-hee, the repercussions are not easy. You'll see a text message in a moment.
It's always like that when Mrs. Kim is ignorant, my brother who talks immaturely on Kakao Talk. There is even a story about apologizing to Myung for his mistakes, but the key here is who he is, right?

[Strict Management]
That's right. My brother has emerged as a hot issue in our society beyond politics. The National Audit Office is all over the place with oppa, and all media, including the media, are pouring out articles about oppa. In fact, it has been a practice so far not to disclose it when you meet the president and the first lady and talk about something or send and receive text messages. Recently, however, all of these good practices have collapsed, producing numerous controversies such as national security and national dignity. On the one hand, it's very complicated and it's almost a difficult situation.

[Anchor]
Who do you think he is? First of all, the presidential office explained that it was Kim Gun-hee's brother.

[Strict Management]
In fact, he has a brother and is known to have been active during the election. The president's office explained that this was his brother, but Myung Tae-kyun said again that his brother was President Yoon during an interview with JTBC. We've predicted further disclosures in the future, so I think we'll have to wait and see who he is.

[Anchor]
What did you think, Senator Park?

[Park Won-seok]
First of all, words are important, but context is important, isn't it? In the context, there seems to be no reason for Kim Gun-hee's brother to appear in that situation out of nowhere. Myung Tae-kyun and Kim Gun-hee's brother are not in a situation where I will discuss anything. In fact, it suggested that it was President Yoon. However, what's surprising is that he talks to a third party about President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is his husband and the rising stock price as a presidential candidate at the time, in that way. Looking back on our memories, the transcript of the phone call between Seoul Sound Reporter Lee Myung-soo and First Lady Kim Gun-hee was released around the time of the presidential election. There was no title of oppa there, but I remember evaluating it like this, "I can't do anything without me, I'm an idiot." Therefore, in fact, such words and actions are not common. No matter how much the couple may have an inner feelings, it's hard for me to understand that they are talking about their family to a third party like that. More problematic is the explanation of the President's Office. He explained that he met Myung Tae-kyun twice last time, but it was confirmed that it was not true, but this time, he did not check the facts properly and made an irresponsible explanation to the public. In fact, I think the explanation is continuing to cause controversy because it is an explanation that is close to false. In the end, Myung Tae-kyun has made various revelations and is predicting that he will do more, but the president's office has not been able to respond to them. If Myung Tae-kyun is really a person who is very self-exaggerated and full of bluffing, it is clearly false that he talked to the president and his wife over the speaker phone for six months, according to the presidential office's claim. Why not take legal action against it? In my opinion, it is rather a situation that disproves that what Myung Tae-kyun is saying is not a false fact. It's a serious problem.

[Anchor]
First of all, after the presidential office's explanation came out, opposition parties said that it's more problematic if it's his brother. Isn't Rep. Lee Joon-seok's name also mentioned in that Kakao Talk? So Rep. Lee Joon-seok said, "I don't know anyone else who Kim refers to as her brother." Anyway, this was in the articles that came out a lot when I asked who he was. But as you said, if Myung Tae-kyun said in an interview that his brother is the president of Yoon Suk Yeol, that's how Myung Tae-kyun's position was revealed.

[Strict Management]
That's right. But at this point in time, it is expected to be about the end of July. Isn't the message very urgent? It's such a time to decide on a certain major issue. That's what I'm expecting. In fact, the President of Yoon Suk Yeol joins the People's Power on July 31. So it seems to be the situation right before that. Of course, this is not a desirable kakaotalk content. However, it is not desirable that such private conversations are indiscriminately disclosed and all of the Republic of Korea is embroiled in political disputes. Look at it like this. So, because of this, all the people's livelihoods that have to be carried out during the parliamentary audit are disappearing, and Korea's semiconductors are in a crisis, and aren't all these important state issues being sucked in like a black hole? So, I think the political community should be cool-headed and respond coolly since this is a private conversation. That's how I see it.

[Anchor]
You mentioned the timing now, but you said it's the end of July 2021. Was it before President Yoon joined the army?

[Park Won-seok]
That's right. As far as I know, I joined on the end of July. During the process of joining the party, I had some conflicts with Lee Joon-seok. So even though I don't know the entire content of that Kakao Talk content, I think the context suggests a conflict with CEO Lee Jun-seok. I think I'm looking forward to Myung Taekyun playing a role in that. Also, he says that Myung Tae-kyun played a role, and between the two. I think it's a scene where you can infer the situation. The problem is that President Yoon Suk Yeol was a strong presidential candidate of the ruling party at the time, so there was already a trend to support President Yoon Suk Yeol as a presidential candidate within the party, and he could have asked for political judgment and advice within the party. Like Myung Tae-kyun, it is problematic that he made a political judgment with the advice of a person who is close to an election broker even though he refers to it as a shadow. According to his argument, he kept in touch for six months until the presidential election, and he was involved in the process of unifying candidates, and he was invited to the inauguration of the president, and after the presidential election, he was nominated for by-elections in 2022 and 2024 in relation to the nomination. So, the circumstances of communicating with Mrs. Kim Gun-hee are being detected. And what Myung Tae Gyun said today is that he will reveal not only that text, but also all the photos and recordings. You don't know what's going to come out. The so-called controversy over non-pre-intervention and manipulation of state affairs. I think that bad memories will inevitably be recalled again. What I think is very disastrous is that there are various state affairs in the current administration, and if the state affairs are caused by the president's inability to judge and lead everything in state affairs, he is immature, ignorant, and not well-informed, so this is a serious problem.

[Anchor]
Today, I revealed the contents of my Kakao Talk through Myung Taekyun's SNS. I'll let you know what I wrote right on top of this Kakao Talk photo because of Kim Jaewon's strong request. That's what I said. What's this about?

[Strict Management]
Of course, there are various conflicts with Kim Jae-won, the supreme council member. I don't think that's the point. So, it's true that Myung Tae-kyun is exaggerated and his words change a little. So, to say that we talked on the phone every day, for example, after Lee Joon-seok was elected, it's June 11, 2021. From then on, I said it was three to four months. So, in general, it seems to be around the time of joining the party, but anyway, what kind of problem Myung Tae-kyun has is under investigation into the Political Fund Act. So, this year's general election is not really true regarding the suspicion of nomination intervention. That's because former lawmaker Kim Young-sun was excluded from the nomination in Gimhae A. And I actually did election consulting through public opinion polls, but there is no such case in this year's general election. There's no public opinion poll itself. And the poll was a problem in June 2022 by-elections when former lawmaker Kim Young-sun was elected. At this time, the Future Korea Research Institute will conduct five polls of former lawmaker Kim Young-sun. However, the poll did not violate the poll standards, but the content itself was about former lawmaker Kim Young-sun. For example, the proportion of cable lines is mixed with 30% in Uichang-gu, Changwon, and the former leader of the Grand National Party, and there are about seven to eight candidates, so they only have a bilateral competition with the Democratic Party of Korea candidate. And because of this, you get nominated and get elected. After that, wasn't it revealed that there was such a money transaction worth tens of millions of won? This is because the extinctive prescription for the election law has been completed, but the political fund law remains. So, while undergoing prosecution investigation, please continue to threaten President Yoon or First Lady Kim Gun-hee and resolve my prosecution investigation and judicial risks. I keep sending such messages, and I'm looking at them like this.

[Anchor]
It continues to send messages to the President and First Lady Kim Gun-hee. I apologize again because my voice condition is not very good. However, the revelation is continuing quite a bit. This Kakao Talk message was revealed by Myung Taekyun. Another person named Kang Hye-kyung revealed the recording of Myung Tae-kyun. Myung's alleged manipulation of public opinion during the last presidential election has now been revealed through this disclosure. What's this about?

[Park Won-seok]
At that time, Myung Tae-kyun was directly or indirectly involved in a polling company called PNR with the title of the Future Korea Research Institute, and Kang Hye-kyung was doing the same thing with Myung Tae-kyun. As Myung Tae-kyun said at the time, he did a considerable number of private polls at his own expense that were not published in the media. And I reported it to the candidate at the time of the Yoon Suk Yeol. Kang Hye-kyung's revelation was made. The related transcript was released, and according to the transcript, Myung Tae-kyun instructed Yoon Suk Yeol to reach the results of the poll by 2 to 3 percent higher than Hong Joon Pyo's, and Kang Hye-kyung revealed along with the release of the transcript, during the poll, he stopped about 2,000 samples and manipulated the data to produce a closed-door poll result in which Yoon Suk Yeol was 2 to 3 percent higher than Hong Joon Pyo's. Around the same time, there was a poll published by a company called PNR in the media, and the data from the poll showed that Yoon Suk Yeol was the only one to beat Hong Joon Pyo, unlike other poll companies. A transcript supporting that came out. In response, Myung Tae-kyun did not answer and kept talking about other things, but what the candidate said at the time of the Hong Joon Pyo was that he knew that the PNR was manipulating public opinion by being attached to the Yoon Suk Yeol candidate, but I didn't think it would interfere with the trend, so I stayed still. That's what I'm talking about. I don't know what the rationale is. There are circumstances supporting that there were various polls at the time, and Myung Tae-kyun may have helped Oh Se-hoon win the election in the 2021 Seoul mayoral by-elections, but he may not know how he won the election. I think it's his own story that supports public opinion manipulation through public opinion polls that I cheated the people for 15 days. So I think this is a serious distortion of public opinion and a disturbance to democracy in a way, so a separate investigation is needed.

[Anchor]
Director Eom Kyung-young is also well aware of the field of opinion polls. Can this manipulate public opinion? And if you did, can you prove it?

[Strict Management]
I've taken a closer look at the situation. The transcript you mentioned was recorded on September 29th. It's September 29th, and if you look at the transcript, I was doing a poll at the time. However, Myung Tae-kyun is also the representative of Sisa-Gyeongnam. At the time, the Internet media Sisa Gyeongnam and New Daily will announce the results of the poll on September 23 and October 2. PNR kept investigating once a week. The institutions requested were Sisa Gyeongnam and New Daily. It was not a public poll. This is the 2nd of October survey and the 23rd of September survey is registered on the Central Committee website. Of course, as you said, it is said that candidate Yoon Suk Yeol beats candidate Hong Joon Pyo by about 1.5 percentage points at the time. Anyway, in the context of the transcript, the investigation should be underway on September 29. But that's not the case. Because the results of the poll released on October 2nd were surveyed for two days on the 1st and the 2nd.

[Anchor]
But when I heard the recording today, he told me that he was going to leak it while ordering Kang.

[Strict Management]
So I'll tell you the rest. There are 2,000 people there. However, there are few 2,000 public polls registered on the website of the Central Women's Commission. There are very few. Then what's 2,000 people? In my view, it was done with the party register. And didn't you say that you're going to leak this out? I used the expression that it was leaked outside, not registered. So I'm going to report to someone. That's how I saw it.

[Anchor]
I'm not going to announce it. I'm just going to show it to someone.

[Strict Management]
That's right. I interpreted it in that sense. Or the poll that was conducted at that time on the 29th should be registered, if there was a poll. Therefore, the registration on the website of the Central Women's Review Committee is thoroughly managed by the Central Women's Review Committee in its own way. If there is a problem after verifying it, I write it down and delete it from the website. So I didn't manipulate it with public opinion polls, but I think so.

[Park Won-seok]
But even if you manipulate private polls, it's illegal. Because all closed-door polls are supposed to be registered with the Central Women's Review and Assessment Committee. I just don't make a public announcement.

[Strict Management]
No,

[Park Won-seok]
In the past, a company that Myung Tae-kyun was doing was punished for manipulating private opinion polls.

[Strict Management]
I have a history of that, but it's the same now. If you don't ask for the party's approval rating at the convention, this is not a registration, it's not a report. Check it out later.

[Park Won-seok]
That poll is registered.

[Strict Management]
No, the poll on the 29th is not registered.

[Park Won-seok]
2000 polls registered.

[Strict Management]
So the poll that was conducted on the 29th was not registered. If it's registered, it's on the website of the Central Women's Review Committee. But I don't have that.

[Anchor]
Since it is not clear what kind of poll the poll itself is in the recording of Myung Tae-kyun and at what time it was conducted, it seems that there is still work to check the facts whether it was published or not. Anyway, since Myung Tae-kyun has declared that he will continue to post it from tomorrow, another story may come out tomorrow. Let's talk about by-elections. Tomorrow is by-elections day. A day earlier, CEO Han Dong-hoon went to Busan again. This is the sixth support campaign. However, representative Lee Jae-myung held an online campaign while he was stranded again today due to his trial schedule. All the representatives of the ruling and opposition parties are risking their lives in Busan Geumjeong like this.

[Park Won-seok]
Busan Geumjeong seems to have become the most battleground among the four by-elections. Originally, it was an area where the power of the people was strong, so there was no power of the people other than giving up the head of the district office during the 2018 local elections, and the former head of the district office, who died in the local elections two years ago, won 62 percent of the vote. However, as the evaluation of the Yoon Suk Yeol government's state administration is very poor and public opinion has worsened due to the recent controversy over Kim Gun-hee, it seems highly likely that supporters will not actively vote. So, even if you look at recent polls, there are polls in which the Democratic Party of Korea candidate is slightly ahead, so it seems that Han Dong-hoon and the leadership of the People's Power are very nervous. If the head of Busan Geumjeong-gu, which was originally an absolute dominant area, is given up, there is a possibility that Han Dong-hoon's leadership will be shaken a lot. Therefore, as representative Han Dong-hoon, I think it is an election that has no choice but to wage an all-out war. On the contrary, if the Democratic Party wins other than in areas that were difficult to beat, it will reinforce its shaky leadership in the political situation, and in a way, it will be an election that can lead to the management of the political situation in the future.

[Anchor]
We talked about Myung Taekyun a while ago, but there's a lot of noise in the passport right now. I don't know how this will work for this by-elections.

[Strict Management]
The approval rating of President Yoon or the approval rating of the people's power is not a little good. So, it's at its lowest state since the inauguration of the government. I think the Busan by-elections still have a high chance of winning the people's power. Of course, the last poll showed that a single Democratic candidate won within the margin of error. Looking at the approval rating by age, the public's approval rating is still unwavering among those in their 60s and older. In that respect, I think it's not easy to change the game. And Representative Kim Young-bae was accused of being a waste of taxpayers' money by the bereaved families, and Representative Cho Kuk recently said that. If representative Han Dong-hoon loses the election for the head of Geumjeong-gu, he will step down. Rather, the enthusiasm for support for the people's power is gradually reviving. In that respect, the head of Busan Geumjeong-gu District Office believes that the people's power will be sufficient to win.

[Anchor]
Then let's listen to a recording. If the power of the people is defeated in Busan Geumjeong, you said it now. Representative Cho Kuk diagnosed that representative Han Dong-hoon would be in a very crisis, so let's hear from him.

[Chairman Cho Kook/Cho Kuk Innovation Party (CBS 'Park Jae-hong's Round of Competition') : Geumjeong-gu has been called the stronghold of the people, and if the Democratic Party and the Cho Kuk Innovation Party unify and this unified candidate wins, can Han Dong-hoon maintain his leadership position right away? Even if a single candidate loses by a narrow margin, I think CEO Han Dong-hoon will be in very crisis. ]

[Anchor]
What do you think, Senator Park? Will CEO Han Dong-hoon be responsible? What if Geumjeonggu goes wrong from the perspective of the passport?

[Park Won-seok]
If the party loses the election, opinions on the responsibility will be divided. For example, pro-Yoon-gye within the party and the presidential office would probably talk about representative Han Dong-hoon's responsibility. Because representative Han Dong-hoon is in charge of the election and representative Han Dong-hoon was in charge of the emergency committee in the last general election, but as a result, he was defeated, right? After all, the leadership of Han Dong-hoon cannot win the election. There is a high possibility of spreading this kind of responsibility theory. On the other hand, Han Dong-hoon's side is responsible for the deterioration of public opinion, which is even behind the Democratic Party in the primary, because of the failure to properly deal with the issues of President Yoon and First Lady Kim Gun-hee. Perhaps there is a possibility that the inside of the people's power and the inside of the passport will be engulfed in considerable internal strife over the theory of responsibility.

[Anchor]
Anyway, it's because there are a lot of places in Busan.Ma talked a lot about Kim Gun-hee there, CEO Han Dong-hoon. How do you see that, too?
Do you think that's intentional, too?

[Strict Management]
I think there's that aspect. Representative Han Dong-hoon recently supported the election and has been hearing a lot of public sentiment on the spot. However, the public sentiment of anger toward Kim Gun-hee was conveyed to representative Han Dong-hoon and he is in the process of delivering it to President Yoon. This is not just for by-elections. So, I will exercise the party's determination and leadership in the future. I think I continue to send such a message to the people. In that respect, I think the power of the people will probably find an opportunity to rebound with this by-elections.

[Anchor]
If Busan Geumjeong is an area that can never be given up from the standpoint of people's power, isn't it now Jeonnam glory for the Democratic Party? How do you see the situation there?

[Park Won-seok]
The three parties, the Democratic Party of Korea, the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, and the Progressive Party, are forming a very tight triangle, which has been analyzed until recently. For the Democratic Party, if it gives up the position of county governor to the Cho Kuk Innovation Party or the Progressive Party in Yeonggwang, various public opinions about the Democratic Party in Honam are not very good. There are comments like this. I think such public opinion will lead to a deeper result. I think Lee Jae-myung's responsibility will eventually be a factor that highlights Lee Jae-myung's shaky leadership and Lee Jae-myung's judicial risk once again. I think we'll have to open the lid to know the final game, because it's so tight. But it's not an easy game for the Cho Kuk Innovation Party.Ma believes that if he can bring the Glory Military, he can achieve such a result of establishing a bridgehead in Honam.

[Anchor]
Now, both the ruling and opposition parties are putting their lives on the line because it is the first election since the new leadership was launched. Let's look at the early voting rate. Last Friday, Saturday, and so on. It's quite high except for the superintendent of Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. Yeonggwang in Jeollanam-do was over 43%. Gokseong was over 31%, Geumjeong in Busan was over 20%, and Ganghwa was over 27%. First of all, it's an honor. How are you reading the turnout?

[Strict Management]
The election for Yeonggwang-gun County is quite fierce for me. In the early days, Cho Kuk, the candidate of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, made considerable strides. However, in the middle of the election, the candidates of the Progressive Party came up a lot. So now, it is a three-way war, and it is analyzed that the possibility of winning the Democratic Party's candidate is increasing a little as the Cho Kuk Innovation Party and the Progressive Party divide the votes.

[Anchor]
It's tomorrow. Let's take a look at the situation where the votes will be counted tomorrow. President Yoon Suk Yeol and representative Han Dong-hoon's private meeting is expected to take place early next week.
CEO Han Dong-hoon seems to be raising the level of his remarks every day. Let's hear today's remarks.

[Han Dong-hoon / Representative of People's Power: Bad things are happening repeatedly in the eyes of the people. The people's worries and anxiety are growing. I think it is necessary to implement the measures I have already mentioned quickly and surely. Isn't it not a place to have personal conversations but to discuss important issues for the Republic of Korea and the people? I think the various things you're thinking about now should be discussed in depth. ]

[Anchor]
It is said that the private meeting will be held early next week, but I wonder if this will happen. The date hasn't been set yet. However, it was made with the solitary confession in mind that he continues to raise the level of his remarks. It was done with the by-elections in mind. Various interpretations are coming out. What do you think, Senator Park?

[Park Won-seok]
Both. First of all, public opinion is so bad in the election that representative Han Dong-hoon seems to be trying to minimize the departure of supporters by speaking out to respond to such public sentiment. On the other hand, when a solo meeting was held, the issue of First Lady Kim Gun-hee should be clearly addressed. I think it's about setting up this public agenda. If we meet and there is no clear connection and no break with the Kim Gun-hee issue, in fact, it doesn't mean much to have a solo meeting, and it's hard to say that it's achieved results for a representative or a party. Therefore, it is necessary to take such measures that are clearly different from before on the issue of First Lady Kim Gun-hee. And we have to discuss it and draw a different conclusion than before. I think he's pressuring the president. That's why I think it's still unclear if a solitary confession will take place. Considering President Yoon's sexual nature, it is true that he expressed great resistance to Kim Gun-hee when he openly mentioned the issue. It is true that President Yoon is in various predicaments right now, but if he continues to do so, will he really accept the one-on-one conversation when Han is pressuring Kim Gun-hee by publicizing the issue day after day? Since the by-elections are tomorrow, I think there is a considerable possibility that there will be no one-on-one meeting.

[Anchor]
What do you think, warden?

[Strict Management]
I think that a solo meeting is 100% successful. That's right. As you said, the issue of Mrs. Kim Gun-hee is the biggest issue. But the problem is that the prosecution will conclude the Deutsche Motors case against First Lady Kim Gun-hee on the 17th, right?

[Anchor]
It's the day after the election.

[Strict Management]
That's right. It's the day after the election. However, the problem is that if you are not prosecuted at this time, there are few options. Last time, CEO Han Dong-hoon said that an apology from First Lady Kim Gun-hee alone cannot prevent the special prosecution. Then didn't you apologize and say you shouldn't have an apple? So I have this exit strategy in mind when CEO Han Dong-hoon recently intensively raises the issue of human renewal. So, isn't this time a little burdensome to go to the special prosecutor right away? So, since an apology can't be used, I think they're officially asking for things like personnel reshuffling or President Yoon's direct announcement of his position, whether it's an option for Plan B.

[Anchor]
However, some people, especially former Chief Secretary Choi Jae-sung, are predicting like this. President Yoon Suk Yeol and representative Han Dong-hoon's solo meeting will be the step of separation. So, in order to meet, you have to meet gently, but you're facing the other person too intensely. So if we meet in this state, isn't this the step of separation? They predict that President Yoon is leaving the party. Who will go first?

[Strict Management]
I'll go first. The meeting itself is a small achievement for me. That's what I want to say. In fact, I think three conditions are necessary for President Yoon to defect. The first is that elections should be imminent. And even if the second is not the party platform, the party should decide on a general agenda. So you have to be able to make an official request. And thirdly, President Yoon should readily agree to defect the party. But I don't think I'm in that environment yet. So even if the situation is as bad as it is now, wouldn't this be around June or July next year? Until then, I'm thinking that it's too much to talk about.

[Park Won-seok]
I don't know if it will even appear as President Yoon's defection.Even if there is a private meeting, it will not be easy to find a point of contact between the two. Because Han Dong-hoon, it is difficult to break through the current political crisis without a full-scale reform of state affairs, and the key to a full-scale reform of state affairs is to deal with the Kim Gun-hee issue according to principle, but President Yoon does not seem to have much intention to do so until now. However, if you look at the pro-yoon reaction within the party, they are very critical of the opinions of Representative Kwon Sung-dong and representative Han Dong-hoon recently. There is a possibility that such a conflict may explode once again after the by-elections are over, so even if you meet alone, it will not be a formal separation, but in terms of politics, it can be a watershed where the two go their own way.

[Anchor]
It will be difficult to produce good results. I see. The results of tomorrow's by-elections are connected with Dokdae. We'll see how those links will end together. I'm wondering what we're going to talk about next week. He was joined by Um Kyung-young, head of the Institute for Spiritual Research in the Era, and Park Won-seok, former lawmaker of the Justice Party. Thank you both.