Yoon Geon-young: "Despite Yoon's considerate appointments, blaming the Blue House... behavior is absurd"

Conflict Between Moon and Yoon Over Lee Chang-yong's Appointment as BOK Governor
"Yoon's Claim Feels Close to Falsehood"

Yoon Geon-young, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] As President Moon Jae-in and President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol's camp engage in a tense standoff over the nomination of the new Bank of Korea governor, on the 24th, Yoon Geon-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized, "It seems the President appointed the nominee with sincerity and consideration for the President-elect, but the President-elect's side is blaming the Blue House and emphasizing responsibility."

Yoon, a former head of the Blue House's National Situation Room, said on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' that day, "I have investigated, and the behavior of the President-elect's side is somewhat absurd."

Regarding the President-elect's camp's objection that the appointment was 'not consulted,' he said, "I feel the President-elect's claim is close to false," and countered, "The person nominated as the Bank of Korea governor is a name that came from the President-elect's side. The Blue House did not originally mention that person. In fact, the President-elect's side even approached that person to gauge their willingness."

He continued, "If the opinions conveyed to the Blue House were the personal thoughts of an aide rather than the President-elect, that is a very serious issue," and pointed out, "The aide has caused unnecessary conflict between the President and the President-elect."

Yoon also urged the President-elect, saying, "I think it is necessary to check whether you are receiving proper information and whether someone is blocking your ears."

He criticized, "It is not understandable in common sense. Representing the Blue House and the President-elect, they met, discussed, talked about specific personnel, and exchanged evaluations, but now to say 'I have never heard of this before,' or 'I don't know this person at all' is hard to understand."

Earlier, on the 23rd, President Moon nominated Lee Chang-yong, Director of the Asia and Pacific Department at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as the new Bank of Korea governor candidate. The Blue House stated that the decision was made after hearing the President-elect's side's opinion before nominating Lee, but the President-elect's camp denied, saying "There was no consultation."