Jin Joong-kwon "Yoon Feels Like He Gave Up on the Center" vs Lee Jun-seok "It Will Get Better"

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, is reviewing policy proposals during the preliminary evaluation of the 'I am a National Representative Season 2' policy contest held at the National Assembly on the 26th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, and former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon expressed differing opinions about Yoon Seok-yeol, the leading opposition presidential candidate and former Prosecutor General.

On the night of the 26th, former professor Jin appeared on CBS Radio's 'Hanpanseungbu' and evaluated Yoon by saying, "His messages give the impression that he has abandoned the center. Rather, he is making much more conservative remarks than Leader Lee." In response, Leader Lee, who appeared as a guest, said, "It will improve once an expert's touch is applied."

In response, former professor Jin said, "(Yoon's) messages feel quite regressive," adding, "It feels like moving backward rather than forward. Didn't Yoon recently talk about '120 hours of work per week'?"

Leader Lee replied, "That was a slip of the tongue. Surely that wouldn't be a campaign pledge," he retorted. Former professor Jin pointed out, "If it was just a slip of the tongue, that would be fine, but underlying it is the mentality I mentioned. Yesterday, I overheard a young person saying, 'I supported Yoon Seok-yeol, but after hearing that, I will never vote for him.'"

Earlier, Yoon criticized the Moon Jae-in administration's 52-hour workweek system in a recent interview with a media outlet, saying, "When I met startup youths, they complained that exceptions should be made to the 52-hour workweek system so that workers can agree on or choose their conditions," and argued, "To develop a single game, you need to work intensely for 120 hours a week, not 52, and then be able to rest freely afterward."

As the controversy grew, Yoon issued a statement saying, "I emphasized the difficulties on the ground caused by the uniform application of the 52-hour workweek system, not the intention to overwork 120 hours," and rebutted, "They are only nitpicking while ignoring the intent of my words."

Former Dongyang University Professor Jin Joong-kwon. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, Leader Lee also denied some reports that "Yoon will join the party around August 10."

Regarding the timing of Yoon's party entry, Leader Lee said, "I announced that I will be on vacation from August 9 to 13," adding, "I was surprised to see reports claiming it was a statement from someone on our side. Does that make sense? Is Yoon planning to secretly join the party while the leader is on vacation?"

He continued, "That would cause misunderstandings, so there is no possibility of that, and I have not heard of such a possibility," pointing out, "It is close to a false report."

When the host asked, "Isn't Yoon's side setting the schedule like that because they don't know Leader Lee's vacation schedule?" Leader Lee responded, "That's also ridiculous. The scheduling team usually checks all of that," he rebutted.