Yoon Seok-yeol on 'Jeon Du-hwan Defense' Remarks... Justice Party Says "It's Like Saying 'He Did Well Except for Selling Out the Country Like Lee Wan-yong'"

Yoon Suk-yeol: "Jeon Du-hwan Did Well Politically Except for Military Coup and May 18"
Justice Party: "Apologizing Comes Before Clumsy Excuses"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential primary candidate, is speaking at the 'Gyeongnam Election Committee Appointment Ceremony' held at the Gyeongnam Provincial Party Office in Uichang-gu, Changwon, on the afternoon of the 19th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Amid controversy over former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, a presidential primary candidate of the People Power Party, making remarks that seemed to defend former President Jeon Du-hwan, the Justice Party criticized on the 19th, saying, "How is this different from saying 'Even Lee Wan-yong did well except for selling out the country'?"

Oh Hyun-joo, spokesperson for the Justice Party, held a briefing at the National Assembly Communication Office in the afternoon and said, "It is highly inappropriate for candidate Yoon Seok-yeol to mention Mr. Jeon Du-hwan as an exemplary case of presidential role and organizational management."

He added, "Moreover, since these words cause great wounds to the people of the Honam region, it is a priority to bow and apologize rather than make clumsy excuses."

He continued, "Candidate Yoon has shown a complete refusal to accept public criticism by always nitpicking over past controversies," and pointed out, "His remarks related to Mr. Jeon are clearly worrisome even when viewed in the overall context."

Earlier, former Prosecutor General Yoon visited the Busan Haeundae-gap Party Member Council in the morning and said, "Former President Jeon made mistakes except for the military coup and the May 18 incident, but many say he was really good at politics," adding, "People from Honam also say such things."

In response, Sim Sang-jung, the Justice Party’s presidential candidate, wrote on Facebook, "Jeon Du-hwan is not a figure whose achievements and faults can be separated," and criticized, "Jeon Du-hwan’s achievements were ultimately made at the expense of the blood of democratic citizens."

Candidate Sim said about Yoon’s remarks, "It is truly outrageous. It seems he wants to take the 40-year dictatorship that trampled the constitution through a military coup, destroyed democracy, and massacred Gwangju citizens as a role model," adding, "The more I think about it, the more horrifying it is."

Sim Sang-jung, a member of the Justice Party, is questioning at the 2021 National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee audit held on the 15th at Incheon International Airport Corporation in Yeongjongdo, Incheon, regarding Incheon International Airport Corporation and Korea Airports Corporation.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kang Min-jin, leader of the Youth Justice Party, also posted on Facebook, "While peers in 1987 were raising stones against the Jeon Du-hwan regime, was candidate Yoon only diligently studying for the bar exam?" sarcastically adding, "It seems he had little interest in how citizens resisted military dictatorship at that time."

She continued, "Saying that Mr. Jeon did well except for the coup and May 18 is no different from saying Hitler did well in politics except for starting World War II and the Holocaust," and criticized, "His claim that 'people from Honam also think so' as evidence is even more unacceptable."

She further stated, "If he understood the still unhealed pain of regional citizens after May 18, he would never dare to utter such words," sharply criticizing, "The stain Jeon left on South Korean history is overflowing."

Meanwhile, as the controversy grew, former Prosecutor General Yoon explained at the People Power Party’s Gyeongnam Provincial Party Office in Changwon City, Gyeongnam Province, in the afternoon, "He made many mistakes during his seven years in power, and it is not that he did everything well politically," adding, "From the perspective of delegation of authority, there are lessons to be learned, which is what subsequent presidents and experts say, and some people from Honam also say so."

He emphasized, "What was done well was done well, and I clearly said that the May 18 incident and the military coup were wrong," adding, "Whenever I say something, people cut off the beginning and the end, but if you look at the full text, everything is there."