[Issue Plus] President Yoon and Han Dong-hoon met...First Lady Kim's Solution Attention

■ Host: Lee Yeo-jin, anchor Jang Won-seok
■ Starring: Choi Jin, president of the Presidential Leadership Institute, political commentator Lee Jong-hoon

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

[Anchor]
President Yoon Suk Yeol and representative Han Dong-hoon met in the outdoor garden in front of the presidential office building.

[Anchor]
There will be discussions on various state affairs, including the issue of First Lady Kim Gun-hee. Let's take a look at the related contents with Lee Jong-hoon, a political critic, and Choi Jin, head of the Presidential Leadership Institute. Welcome.

[Anchor]
President Yoon Suk Yeol and Han Dong-hoon, representative of the People's Power, were originally scheduled for 4:30 p.m., but it was delayed a little, so it seems to be between 50 and 54 minutes. It's been delayed, but isn't the president scheduled for another dinner now? So I think it might be over by now, what do you think?

[Jonghun Lee]
It was supposed to start at 4:30, but it's scheduled for an hour. So, after finishing from 4:30 to 5:30, we move to dinner after that. It was first known that this was the plan, but there was a little diplomatic schedule today. That's the explanation. So I started about 20 minutes late, and based on that standard, if I say I started at 4:53 for example, I think it's over an hour by now, but I don't know how it is.

There were some predictions that some people were looking forward to. A good atmosphere may lead to a dinner. However, the president's office explained that there was a separate dinner. But I checked with the reporters, and they said they couldn't confirm the dinner schedule. So, I don't know how important the dinner schedule is, but in fact, I don't know how much it will be if it's not just a dinner related to the summit or a dinner as an extension of the ruling party's leadership meeting today.

[Anchor]
In the first place, CEO Han Dong-hoon requested a private meeting, but Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok will be present. What do you think this means?

[Choi Jin]
First of all, from the president's point of view, they met alone in a very sensitive situation where Yoon Han-gal and others have not yet been resolved. And if the conversation is slightly altered outside, it can have a huge impact. In these sensitive times, it is inevitable to be very cautious because it is a completely different and different situation.

Nevertheless, I think it's much better in reality to have a private meeting. As any politician who has had a solo meeting with the incumbent president knows, there is a complete difference between those who are present and those who are not present.

Because when the relationship is a bit awkward or strained, if the two of you are alone, you can do it like an older brother or an older brother, why are you so heavy? You can talk like this, or you can say, "Please save me," but if you say that there is an attendee or there is a chief of staff, you will have to maintain a very formal conversation and a formal relationship from the beginning to the end.

And I think President Yoon Suk Yeol actually did that. Today's meeting seems to have clearly shown the president's determination not to deal with the public relationship from beginning to end, whether it will be solved as a president and party leader or not as a junior who we knew in the past.

[Anchor]
Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok attended the presidential office, but representative Han Dong-hoon did not go, right?

[Jonghun Lee]
That's right. At first, representative Han Dong-hoon requested a private meeting, and the president's office virtually rejected it, right? And it wasn't a private meeting, but it was organized through a three-way interview. In that state, CEO Han Dong-hoon probably asked if we could go with the chief of staff, but the presidential office rejected it again. So now, only Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok will attend, and it will be held in the form of attendance. Anyway, looking at the format of the interview this time, I don't think the president is taking a favorable approach to this interview.

So, if you are willing to empower CEO Han Dong-hoon or actively accept CEO Han Dong-hoon's story from the beginning, there is no reason why you can't accept Han's request for a private meeting. Even if it's on purpose, I can accept the facts and give strength to CEO Han Dong-hoon, but I avoided that kind of method. And it's not a dinner, it's a chadam. And from the beginning, the time was designated as one hour. As such, there is no possibility that President Yoon Suk Yeol will listen to what Representative Han Dong-hoon wants today even in terms of formality. In fact, I think it was shown by actions before words.

[Anchor]
As you said, CEO Han Dong-hoon presented three major demands in advance. How much will President Yoon accept?

[Choi Jin]
I have proposed three demands now, but in fact, it is no different from saying that two of the three are impossible.

[Anchor]
What are the two?

[Choi Jin]
First, the president called for a personnel reshuffle, but the president's office already said there was no Kim Gun-hee line, so the first part was virtually rejected publicly, and the third part of resolving suspicions was also a suspicion of pollack, such as Dior bag or stock price manipulation. Since these issues have already been cleared judicially, there is nothing more to come out of the president's office.

If so, it is the second time, and I suggested that First Lady Kim Gun-hee stop her activities, but can you really listen to this at this point? Especially, I think it's very difficult today. I'm a device that can control that part of Ms. Kim's activities in a variety of ways instead of interruption. For example, I think there could be things like the 2nd annex or special inspection.It is hard to find such an unconventional answer, such as "Ma will stop her activities as first lady immediately." In conclusion, as you said earlier today, it does not seem easy to come up with answers and solutions that match the public's eye level today.

[Anchor]
What do you think? Do you have the same view?

[Jonghun Lee]
That's what I'm looking at. First of all, I've already told you that President Yoon is not very favorable about this meeting in terms of formality. In that extension, even if the time is short in terms of content, if you talk about the core content and give an answer right away, you can get results within an hour.

But I wonder if the atmosphere can flow like that. So, in a very official and ceremonial atmosphere, CEO Han Dong-hoon is forced to talk with a straight face, but this is very awkward. We have had a long relationship with the president of Yoon Suk Yeol, but if the two of us sit down and talk comfortably, we can lead them by reviving their past feelings. In today's case, there is a monitor, and in that state, we have no choice but to talk about very ceremonial and official things. Naturally, the expression will be hard.

Would the president respond immediately to that question? I think it's nothing short of expressing that I don't already have much intention to respond in terms of form. So basically, I think they'll focus on listening. CEO Han Dong-hoon. Yeah, you said you really wanted to talk to me about something, so come and tell me everything you want to say. I'll hold it for now. Isn't it highly likely that we'll end it at this level? Therefore, it is very likely that the conclusion will not come out today, and in the future, we have decided to hold more discussions between the government and the government. I think there is a high possibility that the announcement will be made now.

[Anchor]
In terms of providing an exit for Han, how likely is President Yoon Suk Yeol to put the issue of First Lady Kim Gun-hee's apology on the agenda and then actually apologize?

[Choi Jin]
First of all, looking at the current various presidential approval ratings, at least an apology is needed, and there is a high possibility that the president will mention the apology. However, if an apology is made, it is questionable whether public sentiment can be purified at the level of the public's eye level. And in particular, I think the way of apology and remarks are very important.

If you apologize, where do you think you should do it? Mrs. Kim Gun-hee, the first lady. There are sensitive issues such as whether it's done in the presidential office, how you're going to face the people, or whether only messages will come out. The second important thing is the content of the message. Whether to just say "I'm sorry" or "I'm going to suspend my activities for a while, as in the past, I think this should be more intense than in the past. From the public's perspective, the part where the recent state administration has been shaken and complicated because of the person, the part where I'm sorry regardless of the reason, is quite emotional and specific. If so, you will have to present this part to the public about what to do in the future.

Therefore, the reason why apologies are delayed in First Lady Kim Gun-hee and Yongsan is how to include the contents. If you make an apology that doesn't have much substance, it can be expanded even more. As far as I know, Kim Gun-hee's pros and cons are clear even in Yongsan. The pros and cons are quite tense, such as continuing to be pushed and there is nothing to say. Regardless of the reason, I have to apologize for now, so I think it's the first starting point to open the door to the twisted and clogged political situation if you are quite sincere and detailed.

[Jonghun Lee]
Nevertheless, I don't think today the President will comment on the possibility of an apology, the possibility of it, is very high. As I said earlier, I think there is a high possibility that you will make a strategic choice to focus on listening today. Even if we hear from the president's office and inside, the party is in a similar situation.The pros and cons of Ma's apology continue to be contested.

However, the most difficult part for those who think that they need an apology is how far they are going to stop and apologize. Suspicions are continuing to rise right now. Myung Tae-kyun is continuing to reveal this and that, especially things related to Kim Gun-hee.

It is impossible to predict the extent to which it will be released. If Myung Tae-kyun's disclosure is over, then I'll cut it off at that point and explain what I've revealed so far, but I can't do that.

In a way, it should be considered to be influenced by Myung Tae-kyun's operation or that part. Then, instead of the allegations raised by Myung Tae-kyun, such as the issue of luxury bags or Deutsche Motors, which is legally over. This is already over at the prosecution level, without charge. If you cut it off and apologize, what will the people's reaction be like? Not only is it very negative, but the opposition party will point out that this is why an independent counsel is needed. So, in a way, the current situation is neither this nor me, so I think the current situation is not easy to apologize.

[Choi Jin]
So wouldn't it be completely empty-handed if we couldn't even mention the least about the apology and the talks ended today? And I think we should mention the apology because the gates are constantly coming out, perhaps because of the pollack bacillus situation you just mentioned. If you think it's appropriate to apologize at the right time, if not right away, or if you take this kind of luck off, you'll apologize someday. If you just nod after hearing all the situations and the president is done, I think the burden the president has to bear is much greater than when he makes sensitive remarks. If the

summit ended empty-handed and blindly, in fact, in the case of representative Han Dong-hoon, his position will be reduced, but from the president's point of view, it will be the worst position. From the standpoint of representative Han Dong-hoon, I did as much as I could, for the president. So there's no way for me, why don't we go out like this? But from the president's point of view, isn't he a beleaguered man?

It is said that Daegu-Gyeongbuk, Busan-Gyeongnam-do Province, and South Gyeongsang Province have also fallen to the 20% level, and at this point, I think it is far beyond the level of supporting the president by gathering a few senior pro-Yoon-gye members. I think it's time to come up with a pretty bold and drastic measure for the president himself.

[Anchor]
President Yoon Suk Yeol and Han Dong-hoon, representative of the People's Power, began their meeting at the presidential office in Yongsan at around 5:50 p.m. Prior to the meeting, President Yoon and representative Han talked with their aides while walking for about 10 minutes on the lawn and helicopter around the presidential office. It's being released right now. It's a video. It's a video just now. You are watching the scene where President Yoon and Han Dong-hoon, representative of the People's Power, meet. We are meeting outside the presidential office in Yongsan.

[Anchor]
At around 4:54 p.m., the meeting began at Pinegrass, an outdoor garden in front of the presidential office building. Chief of staff Jeong Jin-seok is also seen. Representative Han Dong-hoon is listening to President Yoon Suk Yeol's story together.

[Anchor]
It is said that the interview began at the indoor restaurant after the walk. Presidential Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok was present. I think the interview ended a while ago.

[Anchor]
President Yoon Suk Yeol and Representative Han Dong-hoon, the main characters of today's meeting, met in Pinegrass and outdoor gardens to talk.

[Anchor]
I'm sorry. The interview has not yet been reported to be over. I'll correct it.

[Anchor]
I'm dressed comfortably without a tie today. Your expression looks a bit bright, too. I don't think it rained today either. President Yoon Suk Yeol and representative Han Dong-hoon are sitting face to face with the car in front of them. Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok sits on the left side of Representative Han Dong-hoon.

[Anchor]
Representative Han Dong-hoon did not accompany the chief of staff. That's why it wasn't a 2+2 four-way meeting, but three of us met together and chatted. It was originally scheduled at 4:30, but it is known that President Yoon started at around 4:54 due to a slight delay in his schedule.

[Anchor]
Regarding the attendance of Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok today, an official from the president's office said that the presence or absence of the president and the ruling party leader are not important because they are discussing state affairs on behalf of the government and the ruling party. It is said that the interview is still going on for more than an hour. It is still undecided when the interview will end.

Earlier, he said that if today's meeting ends with an empty-handed meeting, the position of Chairman Han Dong-hoon will disappear, but if that happens, do you expect the opposition-led special prosecutor Kim to become stronger?

[Jonghun Lee]
Of course, the offensive will have to be strengthened. However, it is a little questionable whether Han Dong-hoon's position will be weaker. Rather, CEO Han Dong-hoon may take advantage of the opportunity to further strengthen his position. That's what I think. So, if you look at the by-elections, it's the election of the head of Busan's Geumjeong-gu. In fact, it is quite close as the opposition parties unify their candidates.

That's what we talked about. And maybe we'll move on, this observation came out. In the meantime, CEO Han Dong-hoon began to make very intense demands for Kim Gun-hee, including the so-called three demands. The reason for such strong remarks was that there is a lot of negative perception of Kim Gun-hee among conservative supporters, and in that extension, the 70s and 80s generations may not come to the polls regarding the election of Busan's Geumjeong-gu Office chief.

So, in order to bring them out, in the end, they decided to make a strong statement because they would not turn their minds if they did not mention Kim's part. I saw some of the effects. This time, we won by more votes than expected. Therefore, CEO Han Dong-hoon has recognized that his presence is rather highlighted by the so-called Kim Gun-hee beating.

So if you say you can't get anything from President Yoon at today's meeting, you are likely to raise the issue of First Lady Kim Gun-hee more intensely, and now line up in front of me, there is a possibility that you will strengthen your politics more openly like this. Looking at the changes in the topography of public opinion within the power of the people and within the conservative supporters, it is quite likely that they will turn to support representative Han Dong-hoon more actively.

[Anchor]
Strangely, it was revealed that CEO Lee Jae-myung and CEO Han Dong-hoon will meet later today. What kind of political aim do you think there is?

[Choi Jin]
In my own way, I think I have fully considered the effect of unspoken pressure on the president. If not, let's discuss it then after the meeting with the president. I could do that, but I gladly accepted it. That means that we could have a deep conversation between the ruling and opposition parties, but I think it's quite positive that the two of them meet because the ruling and opposition parties have been at their worst for two and a half years, regardless of whether it has a pressure effect on the president or not.

That's why if the president can't open the door, he believes that the ruling party leader should talk to the two to open the door. In that sense, I think positively. And the more often the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties meet, the more positive the effect is. A little while ago, if President Yoon Suk Yeol made such a gesture of gathering a lot of opinions of representative Han Dong-hoon at today's meeting and delegating a large part of the special prosecution and various powers, he would have a much bigger position, but if representative Han Dong-hoon goes out to hit the Yoon Suk Yeol or differentiate himself just because today's meeting became empty-handed, he may have a positive effect on public sentiment, but the pressure of the pro-Yoon system from within can be quite difficult.

So I'm telling you that I quite agree with Dr. Lee, but there's another side. I agree with much of what you said. Although his position will increase externally, if he goes to the party, there may be a very difficult situation in terms of conflict with Chin-yoon. So, I said it out of regret that if Han Dong-hoon had empowered me in the solitary confinement today, my shoulders would be stretched and the president's position would be broadened.

[Anchor]
Yesterday, CEO Han Dong-hoon reportedly discussed his interview strategy with his aides. I'll be back when I'm done talking. There seems to be a sense of crisis of conservative annihilation just because everyone will die if it goes like this, but pro-Yoon-gye is a place to gather wisdom in state administration, not to decide the outcome like a negotiation. As a result, conflicts have erupted between pro-Yoon-gye and pro-Yoon-gye.

[Jonghun Lee]
In the meantime, such conflicts continued. But in fact, CEO Han Dong-hoon recently faced a kind of crisis situation related to leadership. It's because I've been consistent with an ambiguous attitude. And he couldn't carry out anything he claimed.

Representatively, the ruling and opposition parties tried to make it happen before Chuseok, but it didn't happen because the president's office didn't respond much, and as the situation continues, representative Han Dong-hoon, thought there was something we could expect, but he didn't have leadership, so there was a time when there was a lot of disappointment about representative Han Dong-hoon even among conservative supporters.

In the process, he was elected by-elections, and in the by-elections, he chose to solve his leadership crisis and somehow win the election of Busan Geumjeong-gu District Office chief. In particular, he chose a strong drive related to First Lady Kim Gun-hee, and that worked for now. Such a situation is the current one.

From that point of view, from CEO Han Dong-hoon's point of view, the path to go is no different from a fixed one. His personal leadership and the party recently held a friendly meeting with Dong-hoon, but the purpose of representative Han Dong-hoon is clear now. We need to increase the number of close classmates.

President Yoon Suk Yeol will soon return to the halfway point of his term and go downhill, so the timing is even better now. So, as CEO Han Dong-hoon, it is more likely to drive in that direction. Recently, the staff will probably gather and mainly talk about such things. So, in today's meeting, I think it is highly likely that the president has established a strategy like this, as he has said everything he has to say.

[Anchor]
Here's the breaking news that just came in. It was reported that the meeting between President Yoon and Representative Han Dong-hoon ended at 6:16 p.m. a little while ago. It's said that it started between 4:50 and 54 minutes, so I think it took about an hour and 20 minutes. How do you see that part? But it got longer than I expected.

[Choi Jin]
It got a bit long. It's been a while since we met, hasn't it? There will be at least five parliamentary conflicts that representative Han Dong-hoon has demanded, just to what extent he has talked about major pending issues. It would be enough to talk about yourself, but if you talk about it, I think it wasn't enough to discuss the answer again, but if the results are enough, what does it matter if it's 30 minutes or 20 minutes?

That's why we think not only we but also the people and both the ruling and opposition parties can pay keen attention to the outcome, but if the results don't come out today, or if they come out as nearly empty-handed as quite a few people expected, they will have far more political burdens than they didn't meet in the first place, especially the president. [Anchor] If President Yoon Suk Yeol accepts representative Han Dong-hoon's request to some extent today, a solution and a breakthrough can be made. If not, will representative Han Dong-hoon continue this hard-line mode, toward the presidential office, and criticism toward First Lady Kim?

[Jonghun Lee]
It's bound to be stronger. If there is no result at today's meeting, representative Han will actually slap him in the face when he wanted to go that way, but in a way, he wanted to cry. It's more likely to go in that direction. The opposition party responded negatively to the Kim Gun-hee Special Prosecutor Act, which was reissued this time.

I think I did it to coordinate a little before the meeting with the president, but even if I can't get something out of President Yoon, I can go in the direction of accepting it. In fact, the part that implied that it was no different from going into this interview today has now accepted Lee Jae-myung's proposal for a meeting.

So you don't have to accept it and go, but you can talk about whether you accept it or not after the interview, tomorrow morning. But didn't he send this signal to the president to say that he said he would receive it immediately in three hours and decided before the meeting? By the way, when we do it after the re-decision of the opposition special prosecutor law, we show to some extent that we might agree this time, so the president also actively accepts what I say, I think it meant that.

However, if he did not accept it or if he did not accept it to the level that representative Han Dong-hoon wanted, he would not accept the special prosecution law that the Democratic Party of Korea did. Rather, it is possible to choose such a card that proposes the Han Dong-hoon and Kim Gun-hee independent counsel law in terms of the power of the people. That's what I think.

[Choi Jin]
What's a little disappointing is that when you look at past presidents, you usually see about three scenes when you meet with the representative of the ruling party. One is to coordinate enough before the meeting. There was no coordination at all in this case, although they concluded to a certain extent and coordinated that this part would not work. Secondly, isn't the talks over?

Then, a joint message usually comes out. And thirdly, it shows a scene of harmony for the people, whether they hate it or not, whether they like it or not. I direct a picture. So that the people can feel a little relieved. In particular, there was no scene of such a directing today, when you would show the people that you are in harmony so that you can feel a little relieved about the supporters who support the ruling party. That's a bit of a bummer.

Nevertheless, as long as the results are good, it doesn't matter. The relationship between the president and the party leader must be so unstable that the public and conservative supporters are nervous, but they can show a picture of them hugging each other in such a friendly way or holding hands with a very smile, even if there is no such result. But there was no such part at all. That's why the true results are drawing attention.

[Anchor]
I couldn't see the screen, but it says I shook hands and said hello. We have seen the meaning of the meeting between President Yoon and representative Han, which has been held for an hour and 20 minutes so far. Thank you both.