Former Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun indirectly confirmed on the 3rd that although there was a proposal regarding her appointment as Prime Minister in the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, she never accepted it.
On the day, Park appeared on CBS Radio and said, "To put it simply, I have never given a positive response." Although she did not disclose detailed circumstances, her remarks were interpreted as addressing recent media reports suggesting she could have been nominated as the successor to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.
Former Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun, co-author of 'Semiconductor Sovereignty Nation.' Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@
When the prime minister speculation was reported in the media last month, Park coincidentally mentioned on social media (SNS), "Considering the future of the Republic of Korea, this is a very important time, so I believe cooperation is essential." This sparked interest in her stance. Although there were messages from political circles afterward, Park herself never explicitly commented on the prime minister speculation.
On this day, Park took a cautious stance regarding political remarks. Nevertheless, the host began by saying, "Actually, I promised not to ask about political issues," and tried to bring up political topics. Park responded, "We agreed to talk only about semiconductors," and introduced, "Today, former Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Lee Cheol-hee is hosting the broadcast, so I am making a guest appearance." This served as a reminder that questions about political issues such as the prime minister appointment would not be asked. In response, former Secretary Lee said, "Those who comment or listen to this, or watch on YouTube, might be very disappointed, but I hope you understand."
Then Park bluntly stated, "I have never given a positive response." Although she did not explicitly mention the prime minister appointment speculation, based on her remarks alone, it can be interpreted that "a proposal was made," but she never expressed any intention to accept it.
Regarding her future plans, she mentioned lecture plans and said, "Currently, there are no other plans."
Meanwhile, in the interview, Park devoted time to discussing semiconductor industry issues, focusing on her book "Semiconductor Sovereign Nation," which she wrote during her time as a senior researcher at Harvard University's Kennedy School in the United States.
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