Kang Hoon-sik: "I wanted to experience the opposition's offensive in advance by hearing harsh criticism... Sorry for touching the emotions of supporters"

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] On the 6th, Kang Hoon-sik, a member of the Democratic Party and head of the presidential primary planning team, apologized for withdrawing the invitation of accountant Kim Kyung-ryul, author of 'The Black Book of Cho Kuk,' as a national interviewer due to strong opposition from some candidates and supporters. He said, "I had a strong desire to increase media attention. In the process, it seems I touched the emotional nerves of the supporters."

However, he added, "I hope it is appreciated that the Democratic Party has started to receive criticism and that the media's focus has turned to us," and said, "We planned a tough interview as a kind of vaccination to both raise media attention and to pre-experience attacks from the opposing camp. Going forward, we need to continue receiving criticism while increasing interest in the interviews."

In an interview on tbs radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' on the morning of the same day, Kang said, "It was very important to me to experience attacks from the opposing camp first." He continued, "On the 30th of last month, the Supreme Court confirmed the verdict on Cho Beom-dong, the nephew of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, and Professor Jeong Gyeong-sim was acquitted. However, I regret that I did not properly follow up during that time, and I immediately reversed my stance and apologized. I feel very sorry."

Regarding criticism that the heated exchange between former lawmaker Kim Hae-young, who participated as a national interviewer, and candidate Chu Mi-ae was excessive, he said, "Overall, interviewer Kim Hae-young did well. But when it came to candidate Chu Mi-ae, emotions were somewhat felt," adding, "It seemed inappropriate for an interviewer to behave that way. It could have made the candidate feel very uncomfortable."

On the possibility of supporters of the People Power Party participating in the Democratic Party's presidential primary voter group and engaging in reverse voting, he responded, "Our goal is to have more than 2 million people participate in this national primary voter group," and said, "It won't be easy to engage in reverse voting."