Yoon Gun-young: "Moon Will Not Engage in Politics"... Denies Possibility of Election Support

Yoon Geon-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is questioning during the audit of the Ministry of Unification held by the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee at the National Assembly on October 8, 2020.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lee Gyehwa] Yoon Gun-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and considered the right-hand man of former President Moon Jae-in, dismissed the possibility of Moon supporting the June 1 local elections, saying, "Former President Moon Jae-in will not step into the political frontline or engage in such activities."

On the 24th, Yoon appeared on YTN Radio's 'News King Park Ji-hoon' and responded to the question, "Is there absolutely no chance that President Moon will support or campaign during the remaining election period?" by stating, "Former President Moon said he would go down to Yangsan and live quietly as a private citizen."

When the host asked, "Is there nothing that comes out subtly in (former President Moon's) messages?" he briefly answered, "Yes."

Earlier, at the 13th anniversary memorial ceremony for former President Roh Moo-hyun, former President Moon reportedly told Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's general election committee chairman, and Kim Dong-yeon, the Gyeonggi Province governor candidate, "You must win. Stay strong, I support you." This led some in political circles to speculate about the possibility of Moon's election support.

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's general election committee chairman, also said in an interview with KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' on the same day about the private lunch with former President Moon during the 13th anniversary memorial for Roh Moo-hyun, "He spoke a lot, praised me for my efforts, and although he did not directly express anything about the election, he expressed a lot of concern and worry." He added, "Especially, since I am not usually fond of taking photos, he deliberately suggested, 'Let's take a photo just in case it might be useful,' and took a photo on purpose." He continued, "From that, it seems he indirectly expressed something. It must have been a very cautious occasion."

Former President Moon Jae-in had a phone call lasting about 10 minutes with U.S. President Joe Biden, who was visiting Korea for the Korea-U.S. summit, on the afternoon of the 21st. Yoon Gun-young, a close aide of former President Moon and a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, released a press reference at around 7:50 p.m. that day, stating, "Former President Moon had a phone call with President Biden for about 10 minutes starting at 6:52 p.m. at his residence in Yangsan."
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the phone call between former President Moon and U.S. President Joe Biden, he said, "It is a very meaningful precedent. It is a scene occasionally seen in advanced European countries," and added, "It is the first time in South Korea's diplomatic history. The current U.S. president maintaining ongoing communication and trust-based interaction with our former president is a precedent created by President Moon."

He continued, "Personally, I hope that such national leaders will continue to emerge and that this tradition will be established. I believe that as meaningful precedents accumulate one by one, the nation's prestige will rise."