"Yoon: Many Difficult Questions at Press Conference"
"Professor Ham Seong-deuk Is Not Someone Who Acts Recklessly"
Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform New Party, expressed his opinion on the 'private channel controversy' surrounding the summit meeting, stating, "When conducting diplomacy, both official and unofficial channels between countries operate simultaneously." He explained that since the meeting took place amid prolonged confrontation between President Yoon Seok-yeol and Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, it was inevitable that multiple lines of communication were activated to open the dialogue.
Regarding President Yoon's press conference, he said, "There were many difficult issues," giving it a score of 70 to 80 points.
On the 10th, Lee appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and said, "Because it was an unusual summit meeting, I think they tried to express the good behind-the-scenes consultations (in the interview)." He added, "Professor Ham Seong-duk is someone I personally know and interact with; he is not someone who acts recklessly or without order."
Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform New Party, is giving a greeting speech at the Reform New Party's 1st National Convention Daejeon, Sejong, Chungcheong Joint Speech Meeting held at DCC Daejeon Convention Center in Doryong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon on the afternoon of the 8th. Photo by Yonhap News
Earlier, the 'private channel controversy' arose when Ham Seong-duk, dean of the Graduate School of Political Studies at Kyonggi University, and Im Hyuk-baek, professor emeritus at Korea University (former Democratic Party nomination committee chairman), revealed in an interview with Hankook Ilbo that they were involved in behind-the-scenes coordination of the summit meeting. Lee said, "(The interview content) was not significantly problematic even if made public," adding, "The main negotiators are sometimes revealed to us after diplomatic negotiations, and in cases like sports diplomacy, company chairpersons and others often play behind-the-scenes roles."
However, he pointed out that the interview statement, "We will not use personnel uncomfortable to Lee Jae-myung," was a problematic point. He said, "It is unclear who made that statement, but it is regrettable that such content was released (in the interview)."
Lee rated President Yoon's press conference the previous day as "70 to 80 points." He said, "President Yoon tried to respond, but there were too many difficult issues," and added, "He couldn't give clear answers, but it seems he is aware of the sense of crisis."
He continued, "Since the reality is so dire, proper answers could not come out," and criticized, "Even for the lowest difficulty question like whether he would meet with Cho Kuk or Lee Jun-seok, he couldn't give a proper answer."
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