"Crazy Acts," "Ignorant Third-Rate"... The Roughening Tone of Yoon Seok-yeol's Speech

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, has become more outspoken.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 30th, during a press conference held at the People Power Party Daegu City Party Office for the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region, Yoon made intense remarks when the topic of the recent surveillance controversy involving the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (HOCIU) came up. Yoon said, "(The HOCIU) even hacked into a group chat room with about 100 People Power Party lawmakers. It's crazy. It should all be seen as election interference." He made these comments in response to a question about the prosecution having accessed 2.82 million communication records during his tenure as Prosecutor General.

He also criticized the media reporting these facts, saying, "I saw the headlines of those articles, but they are completely diversionary. The media is essentially admitting to being the official organ of the Democratic Party of Korea."

He used strong expressions such as calling certain media outlets the official organ of a specific political party and describing actions as "crazy."

Earlier that day, Yoon also expressed his determination on social media (SNS), stating, "I would rather die standing than live kneeling," and vowed, "I will definitely win the regime change struggle against the ‘Moon Jae-myung’ ruling forces who even surveil opposition presidential candidates."

The day before, he also made pointed remarks. At the launch ceremony of the Gyeongsangbuk-do election campaign committee held at the Korea National Institute of Korean Studies in Andong, Gyeongbuk, Yoon made intense comments as if he had made up his mind. Regarding debate issues, Yoon said, "The Democratic Party candidate asked me to debate. Do you think I'm stupid?" He added, "Should I debate with such a person in front of the people? It's absurd, really ridiculous."

He also criticized the Moon Jae-in administration, saying, "They brought in ignorant third-rate fools and ruined all diplomacy and security, and beyond that incompetence, now they are conducting surveillance like the authoritarian dictatorship governments of the past."

Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon evaluated Yoon’s increased intensity in remarks by saying, "He is trying to project a strong image as he attempts to confront the current problems head-on."