Yoon-Han's interview on the 21st... Will he accept the "three major demands"?

■ Host: Anchor Sung Moon-gyu
■ Starring: Song Young-hoon, 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 a focus night time to look at news of political interest. Today, we will be joined by Song Young-hoon, spokesman for the People's Power, and Sung Chi-hoon, vice chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee. Please come in. President Yoon will meet with representative Han Dong-hoon next Monday. First of all, it's 4:30 p.m., and looking at the time, I don't think I'm eating.

[Song Young Hoon]
This is not the time to be obsessed with formality. I don't think anyone has the right to be constrained by form because it's an important time when the passport is at a crossroads. CEO Han Dong-hoon also said, "What's important today is what kind of achievements will be made for the people." We had dinner last time, and now the public concern is not what the president and the ruling party leader ate, whether the side dish is meat or dessert is Omijacha, but how much we put our heads together to meet the public sentiment, public opinion, and public opinion, and reach a conclusion that is consistent with the public sentiment and public will. In order to reach such a process and conclusion, the chief of staff has decided to be present.Ma took a long time to put his head together, and I really want the president to be the head of the Republic of Korea and representative Han Dong-hoon to have a private meeting between the heads of the ruling party.

[Anchor]
If it's an exclusive...

[Song Young-hoon]
I put it on to say that I really want it to be a one-on-one meeting between the heads.

[Anchor]
What kind of stories will come and go? Was there any coordination in advance?

[Song Young Hoon]
Now, the agenda is said to be unrestricted, but in fact, wouldn't it be outlined what stories will be discussed? So, it is inevitable to discuss the issue of Mrs. Kim Gun-hee, and didn't representative Han Dong-hoon openly talk about three issues at the Supreme Council yesterday? Therefore, it is necessary for First Lady Kim Gun-hee to apologize and refrain from activities. And there needs to be a personnel reshuffle of the presidential office. In addition, you should explain the facts in detail and cooperate with procedures to identify them if necessary. I talked about these things. 1. In the end, I think it will have to be discussed in this solo meeting. That's what I'm thinking. And I think there will be comments on the political issues of the ruling and opposition parties, which have yet to put their heads together, as they said they would talk broadly about public welfare issues.

[Anchor]
And some people said that there might be talks about the special inspector.

[Song Young Hoon]
I haven't heard directly about whether to discuss the special inspector issue yet. But the special inspector is actually not recommending the National Assembly right now, right? In fact, it will be passed if the Democratic Party makes a recommendation and votes alone. Then the president should appoint it, but he doesn't recommend it for almost two and a half years. Why would that be?

Since the Democratic Party of Korea did not appoint it for five years during the Moon Jae In administration, there is a situation in which the Democratic Party should not recommend it if it does not highlight that part. So this is actually closely related to how the Democratic Party should take its responsibilities as a majority of the National Assembly in a way, and I think that's where the Democratic Party should be asked.

[Anchor]
Then, there has been no talk about the special inspector within the party?

[Song Young Hoon]
I'm not saying there's no comment, but that's credit to the Democratic Party right now. I'd like to say that.

[Anchor]
How is it for the Democratic Party, in relation to the Special Inspector General?

[Sung Chi Hun]
In fact, the Democratic Party of Korea was talking about solving these problems through a system called the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit during the Moon Jae In administration, and as the people's power continues to rise this time, the special inspector should not be the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. But if you want to appoint and introduce it, the previous government has already appointed it once before the Moon Jae In government. However, since there was a time when it was only caused by conflict and ended, it can be discussed again if it is done from the power of the people, but the power of the people is still passive. That is why I would like to say that it has never been formally discussed. If you look at the announcement made by the presidential office today, you don't have to use the word "interview" again. Even in the previous administration, even if the chief of staff was present, the expression "single-handed" was always used when meeting a specific politician or party leader. However, I don't know if it's the reason why the chief of staff was present or not, but there was a nuance that seemed to be trying to devalue using the word interview.

[Anchor]
Do you think the term "face-to-face" is devalued than "face-to-face"?

[Sung Chi Hoon]
That's right. As you said earlier, it feels like the representative of the ruling party and the president meet and talk in equal positions, but who do we have an interview with? I also interview students. It has the meaning of an interview with a senior person. That's why I'm telling you that you're trying to implicitly instill an image of that. I hope the president and representative Han Dong-hoon will meet and listen to the three things that representative Han Dong-hoon wanted. I hope it goes well, but I think the president's office has actually expressed its intention to reject it, even though it has not made an official position. Because when it comes to personnel renewal, people who were unofficially nominated for seven members are saying that it is unfair, and there are already rumors that the second annex will be set up for refraining from activities, and other suspicions should be cooperated. Already, pro-Yoon-gye lawmakers are spreading claims that Kim Gun-hee was found to be a victim due to the decision not to prosecute. Since it's such a situation, it's unfortunate even if the two of you meet, but I'm giving you a negative story that I don't think any conclusion will be made.

[Anchor]
Song Young-hoon also mentioned it a while ago, but Han also said that it is important to have results, not form. Then, how much do you think it's an achievement? How much do you think it's an achievement?

[Sung Chi Hoon]
I'm not sure, I can't just talk about Kim Gun-hee. Even so, isn't it ambiguous to announce that we have decided to renew our personnel after the interview? The president has the right to appoint people. That's why, besides the issues related to First Lady Kim Gun-hee, I think I'll probably talk about people's livelihood issues, and legislative conflicts, which are the most conflicting factors. The medical crisis is still unresolved and only time is passing, but I think representative Han Dong-hoon has held a different position from the presidential office in solving the problem, so if we find a solution to it, it can still be fruitful. Perhaps the results that can be officially presented on the outside can only come from such public welfare issues or policies, but nothing can be officially achieved in relation to First Lady Kim Gun-hee.

[Anchor]
So, if there is no conclusion about Mrs. Kim Gun-hee and there is an agreement or consultation to the extent of a parliamentary conflict, that cannot be said to be an achievement. Are you saying that?

[Sung Chi Hoon]
That's right. If you persuade President Yoon Suk Yeol to not give a briefing after that, but if there is a personnel reshuffle or Mrs. Kim Geon-hee refrains from working, it will be fruitful. Even if we reach an agreement, we can't say it officially. In the future, we can't announce that we have decided to refrain from Kim Gun-hee's activities through today's interview, right? I just have a lot of consensus. We'll have to say that and wait and see how it goes after that.

[Anchor] How do you see the
song spokesperson? How much do you expect?

[Song Young Hoon]
First of all, there are three things that representative Han Dong-hoon talked about publicly, which are meaningful in that they give the president's office a kind of exit strategy for the current situation by suggesting a solution. First of all, didn't Mrs. Kim Geon-hee publicly declare her apology and refrain from activities in a public statement on December 26, 2021? By keeping that promise, it will be the first step in line with the will and public sentiment for now. Next, CEO Han Dong-hoon said this about human renewal. Human renewal is not necessarily done in response to any wrongdoing. In other words, didn't the president's office officially deny that it is now called the Hannam-dong Line? In fact, of course, we have no choice but to deny it. And I haven't confirmed any objective reality that there is such a thing.

However, CEO Han Dong-hoon suggested the justification by saying that human renewal is preemptive. The fact that the presidential office needs to provide a preemptive and comprehensive fact-finding process to explain the suspicions honestly and cooperate in the process of identifying them. In other words, we need to check the facts in full so that we can respond properly to suspicions about Myung Tae-kyun. If you listen carefully, what CEO Han Dong-hoon is talking about now is to solve the problem, not to differentiate for his own political calculation or self-politics. CEO Han Dong-hoon has said this several times in private. I have no intention of differentiating myself from what I said. However, I have heard several times that I intend to say the right thing. I think it's the first time I'm telling you this on YTN. So instead of taking these things as other intentions, I want you to look at these agendas in terms of what is most helpful for solving problems in the entire passport.

[Anchor]
Let's continue talking about the approval rating today. President Yoon's approval rating came out today, and it was a Gallup survey. The positive evaluation was 22%, and the negative evaluation was 69%. Each went down 1 percentage point, and the negative evaluation went up and came out like this. 20, 23, 22. It went down like this. As a factor of negative evaluation, the issue of First Lady Kim Gun-hee was the second to be underneath the economy, people's livelihood, and prices, which was significantly higher than the previous survey three weeks ago. What do you think of the results?

[Song Young Hoon]
In the end, it cannot be said that there are no issues related to Kim Gun-hee in the cause of the negative evaluation. It's being confirmed as an objective number. So, in the end, we can specifically confirm that the public evaluation would not have improved immediately by approaching the nature of the problem that is being raised now, or by being good at other things. That's why we can't avoid that problem in this meeting between President Yoon and Representative Han Dong-hoon. Eventually, it will be talked about head-to-head and that will have to approach a solution, even if it's for a long time.

[Anchor]
There's also something about the party's approval rating in the polls. Can you show us? If you look at the party's support, the people's power is 28, and the Democratic Party of Korea is 30. The power of the people was lost by 3 percentage points, and the Democratic Party went up by 2 percentage points. Anyway, the Democratic Party of Korea came out a little higher, the people's power went down, and the president's approval rating went down. So, at a time when the approval ratings of the party and the government are falling together, the ruling party should provide an opportunity to raise this anyway, what do you think from the opposition party? How should the opportunity be prepared?

[Sung Chi Hoon]
First of all, as we saw earlier, the majority of the negative evaluation public is talking about solving the Kim Gun-hee problem, and from the perspective of the Democratic Party, I would like to say that it is great that the positive evaluation remains in the 20% range. In fact, I think the thoughts of those who are coming out 23% and 22% will be conditional support. What is that? In this by-elections, Han Dong-hoon said, "I'm saying the right thing, not differentiating myself," but in the end, saying the right thing now makes a difference. That's why conservative supporters who saw it might be able to give them more time, but since they said they would have a private meeting, wouldn't there be something change after the meeting? Because the reason for selecting Han Dong-hoon as the leader of the party from conservative supporters is to bring about a change in President Yoon Suk Yeol, solve the problem of First Lady Kim Gun-hee. Since we picked him with this expectation, it hasn't been long since we elected him as the party leader, so I think the idea of trusting him a little more is contained in 22% and 23%. Therefore, I don't know what will happen after this solo meeting, but if CEO Han Dong-hoon fails to make a drive after there is little result in the solo meeting, even that support group may collapse. And I don't think it's that good indicator for Democrats, even though it's 2% higher in party approval. Because the opposition party's approval rating is not as high as expected when the approval rating of the state administration is so low and the negative approval rating is so high, it is an indicator of reflection that something is not properly appealing to the middle class of the Democratic Party.

[Anchor]
He said that it is an indicator that the Democratic Party of Korea should reflect on. In the same survey, there was a result that 63% of the respondents should introduce Kim Gun-hee's special prosecutor. 26% said there was no need for an independent counsel, and 67% of respondents should reduce their public activities. And the opinion that it's currently appropriate should be increased by 19%. There was about 4%. The gist of this question was that CEO Han Dong-hoon has been talking about refraining from activities.

[Song Young Hoon]
That's right. The public agrees a lot about refraining from activities, and there are only 4% of people who need to increase it, right? Then, on December 26, 2021, it was confirmed once again why Kim Gun-hee's public statements as a candidate spouse at the time should keep her promises. In that sense, it's not a particular new story, and now I think I can keep my promise. Then, in the case of the independent counsel, the high public opinion in favor of Kim Gun-hee's public activities seems to be related to some negative public opinion and views.

However, that does not seem to be the case if the possibility of implementing the special prosecution has increased objectively. Yesterday, the Democratic Party of Korea proposed another special prosecution law at the initiative of Representative Kim Yong-min, and suspicions about the nomination process for the 2022 local elections, the by-election nomination process, and the nomination process for this general election are all included in the department store style. But what's wrong with that? If such a special prosecution law is really implemented, there is a possibility that the People's Power Party may be subject to a search and seizure, not a criminal charge in some cases, or that certain individual lawmakers may be subject to a search and seizure warrant. That's why it's even harder for incumbent lawmakers to approve of this. So, if you look at the contents of the new special prosecution law proposed by the Democratic Party of Korea now, it seems that it has become more difficult to vote for it from the power of the people.

[Anchor]
Last time, 4 votes were cast, so if you veto it and go back to the re-vote this time, you won't know. There have been a lot of stories like this, but you're looking at the results of the re-vote negatively, right? How is it from the opposition party's point of view? Yesterday, I proposed the third independent counsel law.

[Sung Chi Hoon]
Well, then, the People's Power continues to say that there is a toxic clause in the Special Prosecutor Act proposed by the Democratic Party of Korea. This is virtually unacceptable. Then, I would like to ask again whether you really insist that the Special Prosecutor Act on Kim Gun-hee is not necessary at all except for such toxic clauses. Because, as I saw in the poll indicators earlier, 63% of the public agree with the independent counsel, and 47% of conservative supporters agree within it. This is a very overwhelming figure. That's why even conservative supporters insist on introducing a special prosecution law, and if the leader of the ruling party is the leader of the conservative party, of course, he should propose a special prosecution law that the people can understand and the conservative party can understand.

The independent counsel law proposed by the Democratic Party has a toxic clause. It's wrong. It is unconstitutional. Han Dong-hoon often talks about how he reacts to the public's opinion, not just by talking about it like this. If you want to do politics that meets the public's expectation, you should prepare a special prosecution law if such public opinion came out. So if the Democratic Party of Korea thinks it is too weak a special prosecution law, then it is politics to go through such a coordination process. From the perspective of the Democratic Party of Korea, in order to gain time in the process of persuading President Yoon Suk Yeol as much as possible, the Democratic Party of Korea claims that the special prosecution law has a toxic clause and is anti-unconstitutional, but the people's power is not being pursued. However, I expect that there will be a change in CEO Han Dong-hoon's attitude after the interview and after the private meeting.

[Song Young Hoon]
As for the special prosecutor, the Democratic Party even said it would do a permanent special prosecution if I added briefly, but it's a kind of detour of the right to demand reconsideration. Even though you say you'll do a permanent special prosecution, don't you say you'll change the rules on the recommendation of candidates for the permanent special prosecution? So, I personally don't think there is any room for discussion because the Democratic Party of Korea must choose an independent counsel and there is no sign of change in its will to conduct an independent counsel.

[Anchor]
Do you think there's no room for consultation?

[Song Young Hoon]
That's how I see it. If you look at what the Democratic Party of Korea has done so far. [Anchor] In fact, in the case of the Special Prosecutor Act on Corporation Chae, Han Dong-hoon, chairman of the National Assembly, said that he would issue a special prosecutor law on corporation Chae, which changes the toxic clause, isn't it possible in this case at all?

[Song Young Hoon]
Isn't the Democratic Party now saying that it will change even the National Assembly rules attached to the permanent special prosecution law, which the ruling and opposition parties agreed on 10 years ago? In other words, I think it's a difficult story because I can never give up the right to recommend the special prosecutor.

[Sung Chi Hoon]
In short, the most recent special prosecution of the president was the special prosecution of the president of Park Geun Hye. Even at that time, the ruling party could not be involved at all because it was a special prosecutor directed at the president of Park Geun Hye himself and those surrounding him. And at the end of the day, the president had only the power to appoint two recommended prosecutors. The prosecutor appointed at that time and the people who worked under him were the president of Yoon Suk Yeol. And Han Dong-hoon is now the leader of the ruling party. If the law that limits the ruling party's options is unconstitutional because it is directed at the ruling party, then the people appointed and operated under the unconstitutional law are President Yoon Suk Yeol and Representative Han Dong-hoon, and I would like to ask what you would say about that.

[Anchor]
I'll stop talking about this special prosecution law because I think it'll be a situation where the results will come out after the interview next Monday and there may be changes accordingly. The prosecution's indictment of Kim Gun-hee, who has been suspected of manipulating Deutsche Motors' stock price, yesterday caused a stir in the political circle. Let's hear the related remarks firsthand. The prosecution decided to impeach Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung yesterday, protesting the Democratic Party of Korea's indictment. Hasn't the specific procedure or timing been set?

[Sung Chi Hoon]
Nothing has been decided. Because it's decided by the leadership and it's a floor matter, so we'll consult with the floor leadership. Therefore, it is likely that the specific timing will be announced after the floor leadership consultation.

[Anchor]
However, in the past, a bill to impeach the prosecutor general has been proposed. I think it was about seven times.

[Sung Chi Hoon]
It's never actually passed. However, this time, the Democratic Party now occupies a large number of seats, so if the Democratic Party pushes for it, there is no problem in passing it.

[Anchor] What are the requirements for
?

[Sung Chi Hoon]
Now, more than a third of the registered members of the prosecution are proposing, and the majority of the registered members are in favor of it. That's why it's enough to proceed with Democratic seats.

[Anchor]
That's why it's like that if the Democratic Party decides.

[Song Young Hoon]
So, shouldn't there be a serious violation of the constitution or the law? However, it is difficult to understand why he is impeaching the prosecutor general, who has just taken office. If it's because of the Deutsche Motors case, the Attorney General doesn't have the power to lead the investigation into the Deutsche Motors case. The person who deprived the investigation command was then Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, who is now in the Democratic Party. Then why on earth do they impeach? Last time, it was rejected 9:0 in the prosecution's impeachment case, but the prosecutor general is also impeached. Then, I don't think there will be any public officials left in Korea. Today, Chairman Han Dong-hoon said, "Is there any public official that the Democratic Party of Korea has not impeached?" When I was the Minister of Justice, why did I only talk and not impeach him, would I have said this much?

[Anchor]
Today's parliamentary audit of the National Assembly's judiciary committee also continued a battle over the prosecution's non-prosecution of Kim Gun-hee. I'll take a look. So, the opposition party said it was a political prosecutor because it was not prosecuted, but if prosecutor Lee Chang-soo had prosecuted it, it would have been more a political prosecutor. That's what I said. How did you like it?

[Sung Chi Hoon]
It's a pun. What Representative Park Jin-tae said before is that I don't think I'm taking the perception of the situation seriously. You said you shouldn't make a crime that doesn't exist. I'm arguing that that's not the problem, but that it's the problem to make you innocent. And haven't you explained to the people why the prosecution was not indicted for four hours yesterday? I've never seen such a thing before, and from what I explained in those four hours, it seems that Mrs. Kim Gun-hee was aware of the market price adjustment, but there is no direct evidence. And the state seems to have contacted the main culprits of the maneuver, but there is no direct evidence. That's what they say. In fact, in such an ambiguous situation, there is our lawyer, but there are some indirect evidence and some circumstantial evidence. Then, in fact, it is a normal prosecutor's prosecution to leave the judgment to the court if the prosecution has both such ambiguous evidence. I'm talking about the opposite of that. Rather, they have to prosecute in an ambiguous situation, but they keep not prosecuting because it is an ambiguous situation. So was Diorback, and so was the suspicion of stock manipulation at Deutsche Motors. He is criticizing why Kim Gun-hee is the opposite of the existing prosecution's behavior, but it seems that he is saying something completely different from the current problem.

[Anchor]
In any case, Kim Gun-hee was not indicted yesterday for manipulating Deutsche Motors' stock price, and yesterday, she was asked for a search and seizure in the process of explaining it, but she said it was rejected, but she reversed it again today. What do you think of it as a whole? I wonder how you saw it from a lawyer's point of view.

[Song Young Hoon]
It is quite painful that the explanation that the search warrant you just mentioned was requested, but it was rejected, but the next day, the explanation that you never requested a search warrant was changed. Because this morning, after collecting all the major daily newspapers' editorials, Kim Gun-hee's Deutsche Motors case is now a public judgment in some areas of judicial or investigation. Therefore, it seems to be consistent to some extent that the people have moved to the realm of whether they will be convinced and accepted. Then, it is important whether the people can accept this, but if the explanation changes like that and the explanation goes back and forth, it becomes difficult for the people to understand and understand. Another thing I would like to point out as a lawyer is that the case has been investigated for a long time, so I would infer that the record is very vast. But don't you say that the prosecution made something called Red Kim?

It's a good idea to judge the red team by going into the red team's opinion.Ma is considering operating the red team, including an evaluation, in the morning of the 15th. The article came out like this on the morning of the 15th. But aren't you saying that the red team was gathered and held a meeting on the afternoon of the 16th? Then it would be about a day and a half or two at most to review.

[Anchor]
Do you think that the Red Team is in a hurry?

[Song Young Hoon]
It's not that it was made in a hurry, but I think he might have had a plan.Has Ma been given enough time to review the vast record and make sufficient judgments? There is also a regret in that regard.

[Anchor]
Lastly, let's talk about Myung Taekyun. It's making waves by disclosing the Kakao Talk conversation sent by Mrs. Kim Gun-hee, Myung Tae-kyun. But the brother who appears in the conversation told YTN that Mrs. Kim's brother is right. I'll listen to your voice. Whether Lee is his brother or President Yoon, he has been giving mixed answers every day, and it has changed day by day, but this time he said he is his brother. Does this matter? What do you think?

[Song Young Hoon]
But it's already become a situation where it doesn't matter who your brother is. In fact, whether that's the president of Yoon Suk Yeol or Kim Gun-hee's brother, I don't think that's the problem that the people are paying attention to anymore. So why are there so many suspicions and controversies related to First Lady Kim Gun-hee? In fact, there is a view on this part, so didn't we reveal that page even though Myung Tae-kyun claimed that he had numerous KakaoTalk messages? Instead of focusing on the few lines in that chapter and focusing on who the brother is, I think we need a comprehensive and fundamental solution to this issue. That's the apology I mentioned earlier, refraining from activities, comprehensive fact-finding, and personnel reform. I think it would be better for us to focus on the essence rather than on the peripheral.

[Anchor]
Anyway, the president's office immediately explained that he was his brother, but the important thing is that there is another essential problem.Ma does not believe the President's Office's explanation.

[Sung Chi Hoon]
That's right. The presidential office has not been able to give credibility when it comes to explaining about Myung Tae-kyun. Because the first explanation was that we only met twice, and there are speculations that we may have met at least four times since then. And Myung Tae-kyun kept revealing the Kakao Talk we exchanged with Kim Gun-hee, which we saw, and I think he has more, but he's piling it up and not revealing it on purpose. The message that Myung Tae-kyun is throwing is that he is under investigation, and he continues to send messages asking for protection of himself. That's why I often respond to media interviews like that. The contents of the media interviews do not provide evidence, but they only say that they have been actively communicating with the president and First Lady Kim Gun-hee, but they show off their influence and ask them to protect themselves until their investigation is over and until it goes on, so they will probably disclose decisive evidence only when necessary, but I will continue to respond to the interview.

[Song Young Hoon]
If I add a little bit about what you said, so I would like to ask our media to say something that Myung Tae-kyun has to say now, of course, there are stimulating and interesting materials. But I'm solving various theories, but there's actually not a few specific evidence or cross-checks about it. In that respect, I personally think that it should be avoided to follow every word of Myung Tae-kyun by paying attention to it.

[Anchor]
You're right. Anyway, the truth is somewhere, and it even spread to the trust problem. Anyway, regarding Myung Tae-kyun, the informant Kang Hye-kyung will appear at the National Assembly on the 21st of next week. We'll see what other stories will come out then. So far, we have been with Song Young-hoon, spokesman for the People's Power, and Sung Chi-hoon, vice chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee. Thank you both.