Cheon Haram Criticizes Yoon Seok-yeol's Rapid Rise and Political Downfall
Says "He Became a Superstar Too Quickly and Fell into Cognitive Dissonance"
Compares Yoon's Leadership to "An Express Train Heading Toward a Cliff"
Cheon Ha-ram, floor leader of the Reform New Party and acting party leader, evaluated the reason for former President Yoon Seok-yeol's rapid downfall on the 7th, saying, "He became a superstar too quickly and easily fell into cognitive dissonance," and added, "Once the president took a wrong path, he became like an express train heading toward a cliff."
Floor leader Cheon appeared on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' that day and said about former President Yoon, "He rose too quickly and seemed to have easily fallen into cognitive dissonance." He continued, "In the general election, he seemed to have gone down the path of delusion with the cognitive dissonance of 'How could someone as loved by the people as I am lose to the Democratic Party led by a criminal like Representative Lee Jae-myung?'"
Cheon Ha-ram, Acting Party Leader, speaking at the nationwide party committee chairpersons meeting last February. Photo by Yonhap News.
He pointed out the limitations of Yoon as a political newcomer from the prosecution background, saying, "There should have been sincere aides around him who would say, 'You must not go down the path of election fraud,' but there was no one." He added, "In politics, there were no people who trusted each other and worked together. Once the president took a wrong path, he became like an express train heading toward a cliff."
Regarding former President Yoon's recent message, "I will be with you until the end," Floor leader Cheon said, "It means he intends to consolidate the political energy without disrupting his support base," and added, "Where would he use that energy? Ultimately, it can only be interpreted as an attempt to maintain political influence by supporting the People Power Party candidate in the presidential primary, whether to be pardoned or to become a power behind the throne."
About former President Yoon inviting Representative Na Kyung-won to his official residence, he said, "It is an unusual choice. In any case, it is enough kindling to warm Representative Na's heart," and added, "From a realistic perspective, it is a more reasonable interpretation that he is entrusting party leadership to Representative Na rather than aiming for the presidency."
Floor leader Cheon commented on the Constitutional Court's dismissal ruling, saying, "The phrase 'politics should be resolved through politics' resonated with me," and added, "For democracy to function peacefully, issues must be resolved through words, systems, and politics. Excessive violence by state power must not intervene, so this is a very natural statement."
He added, "Even as a president in a situation where the opposition holds the majority, you should not use the military or police but should have compromised with the opposition. The Constitutional Court also knows the political essence of a minority government, so it was very regrettable that both the president and the opposition did not understand this."
When asked if there was a moment while listening to Acting Chief Justice Moon Hyung-bae read the ruling when he felt it was an 8-0 unanimous decision, he pointed to the part stating, "There was no emergency situation justifying martial law."
Regarding the second opinion letter former President Yoon sent to the people's defense team the day before, he analyzed, "It means he intends to consolidate political energy without disrupting his support base," and added, "Ultimately, it is an attempt to maintain political influence by supporting the People Power Party candidate in the presidential primary, whether to be pardoned or to become a power behind the throne."
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