Lee Jun-seok "I also talk about Ahn Cheol-soo when On Air is off... Reporting private conversations is excessive"

"'7-hour' call report, dismissed as a much ado about nothing
On presidential campaign involvement allegations: 'Many family members participate in primary campaigns'"

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, criticized the excessive coverage of Kim Gun-hee's '7-hour phone call transcript.'
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, claimed that the so-called '7-hour call transcript' of Kim Gun-hee, spouse of presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol, was excessively reported as private conversation, saying, "I also talk about Ahn Cheol-soo when the broadcast is off."

In an interview with YTN Radio's 'Lee Dong-hyung's News Face-off' on the evening of the 17th, Lee said, "Evaluations of political situations or people are not problematic if we assume they are private conversations," adding, "Whether it is necessary to report even this level of private conversation under the name of the public's right to know, and whether it had that much value, I think the public might feel it was excessive."

He continued, "After watching the broadcast, many people might feel 'Isn't it a much-ado-about-nothing situation?'" and criticized, "I find it strange that the (Democratic) Party even organized a campaign to watch the live broadcast."

When the host asked if Kim made remarks that seemed to influence the presidential campaign work, Lee explained, "In primary campaigns, family members often participate. Once out of the primary, the candidate receives systematic management from the party," adding, "During the primary process, it is natural to gather information about the candidate's spouse, Yoon Seok-yeol, support him, and propose recruiting people to form the campaign team."

Regarding Kim's 'Me Too belittling' remarks, he said, "Social perspectives on Me Too and such are considered inappropriate when it comes to conversations of public figures," but dismissed concerns by saying, "The candidate's spouse apologized if there were differences from the public's view."