Yoon Seok-yeol: "Eliminated Uncertainty and Acted Fairly... Decision Did Not Take Hours"

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who declared his candidacy for the presidential election, visited the People Power Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 30th and submitted his party membership application to Kwon Young-se, Chairman of the External Cooperation Committee. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol announced his decision to join the People Power Party on the 30th, stating that it was "to eliminate uncertainty" and expressing his intention to "participate fairly in the primary election." He also mentioned that the decision "did not take several hours."

At a press conference held at the People Power Party headquarters that day, Yoon said, "For regime change, it is only right to join the main opposition party and start fairly from the initial primary election. By doing so, I believe the People Power Party can gain broader and more universal support from the people, which is why I decided to join today." This comes one month after he declared his political participation at the end of last month.

He continued, "I wanted to spend more time listening to the diverse opinions of the people without party affiliation, but after meeting many people over the past month, I realized that eliminating uncertainty and informing the public early that I should participate from the beginning, rather than later as I initially thought, would allow me to work with the broad support and backing of those who desire regime change as a party member."

He had delayed joining the party thinking that not belonging to a specific party would allow him to hear a wider range of public sentiment, but he decided that uncertainty was having a negative effect. Recent polls showed a decline in his approval ratings, with a noticeable increase in defections among People Power Party supporters. He also said, "It has only been a few hours since I made the decision." This implies a decision different from the original plan. It appears that pressure from People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok and others, who insisted that the "primary bus will depart as scheduled at the end of August," influenced him. Yoon’s use of the phrase "fairly" seems to reflect this context.

Lee Jun-seok was unable to attend the joining ceremony due to a local schedule. Regarding this, Yoon said, "Since I have been in communication with Lee Jun-seok since our meeting last Sunday, I was unaware of today’s local schedule. Matters related to joining the party can be handled next week. We have been proceeding with sufficient communication."

He added, "Carrying uncertainty about joining any longer would rather hinder political activities for regime change and cause confusion and inconvenience to the public by not clearly stating my position. I made the decision only a few hours ago."

Regarding the controversy over mentioning the Bu-Ma uprising while viewing the memorial for martyr Lee Han-yeol, he said, "It was absurd. I was 27 years old at the time and lived near Yonsei University. Who wouldn’t recognize the photo of martyr Lee Han-yeol?"