Lee Jun-seok on Yoon's '王 Character Controversy': "This Kind of Issue-Making Is Not Acceptable... Message Management Is Necessary"

"Former General Programming Panel Members in Yoon's Election Campaign Spokesperson Team Seem to Face Immediate Response Pressure"

Yoon Seok-yeol, People Power Party candidate. Photo by MBN

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Amid controversy over the 'King (王)' character drawn on the palm by Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party candidate, during a TV debate, Lee Jun-seok, the party leader, pointed out that "this kind of issue-making should not continue."

On the morning of the 5th, Lee appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and responded to the host's remark that "Candidate Yoon Seok-yeol is releasing something new every day, including the 'King' character on his palm," saying, "Half-jokingly, it seems his ability to make issues is excellent."

Lee added, "Yoon is probably classified as the candidate with the highest approval ratings among our candidates in opinion polls, so public and media interest is intense," but he also criticized, "However, it seems Yoon needs to manage his messages better."

Regarding the election camp spokespersons' response to the controversy over Yoon's 'King (王)' character, Lee said, "Especially this time, perhaps because these people have been active as panelists on cable TV, there is pressure to give immediate answers rather than accurately verifying the candidate's position," adding, "They are used to answering any question within three seconds. Election camp spokespersons should not behave like this."

Earlier, Yoon's side repeatedly gave inconsistent explanations about the 'King (王)' character. On the 3rd, in a phone call with Yonhap News, former Prosecutor General Yoon stated, "The writing on the palm does not have any connection to the king, president, regime change, or any magical meaning; such claims are groundless," and added, "It was written by a grandmother living in the same neighborhood as a passionate supporter," drawing a line under the 'magical meaning' controversy.

Nevertheless, as the controversy did not subside, Kim Yong-nam, spokesperson for Yoon's presidential campaign, appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the 4th and explained, "Candidate Yoon seems to mainly wash his fingers."

However, on the same day, Kim Byung-min, another spokesperson for Yoon's presidential campaign, on CBS Radio's 'One Round Match,' reversed Kim Yong-nam's explanation, saying, "Since it was a live broadcast, the explanation might have differed from the candidate's position," and added, "I want to clarify once again that it is not about washing only the fingers."