"Lee Hyo-jin, Spokesperson"...
Ahn Cheol-soo's Side Says "It Was Just a Temporary Memo"
Ahead of the early presidential election, Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party who officially declared his candidacy, became embroiled in an unexpected controversy. It was because of a six-character memo written on his finger.
On the 8th at 11 a.m., Ahn declared his fourth presidential run in front of the statue of Admiral Yi Sun-sin in Gwanghwamun Square, Jongno-gu, Seoul, saying, “Crossing the river of martial law and impeachment under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration is only about national unity based on reflection and innovation.”
Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, raised his hand during a press conference announcing his presidential candidacy on the 8th. The writing "Lee Hyo-jin Daebuin" on his finger was captured, sparking curiosity online. Ahn's side explained, "It was a note written to introduce the spokesperson." Photo by Yonhap News
At that moment, the six characters written on his left index finger were captured by media cameras. The first three characters were presumed to be someone's name, and the last character appeared to be the Chinese character '大 (dae, meaning big or great)'.
This reminded people of four years ago when former President Yoon Seok-yeol, during a TV debate as the People Power Party presidential candidate, had drawn the character ‘王 (wang, king)’ on his palm, which became a hot topic online. At that time, Yoon’s camp explained that “a friend wrote it as a joke.”
Ahn’s camp quickly moved to quell the controversy. The characters written on the index finger were ‘Lee Hyo-jin Wonkwang Dae (University)’. Ahn Cheol-soo’s presidential campaign explained, “It was temporarily written to introduce Lee Hyo-jin, who was appointed as spokesperson today.” Lee is a former announcer at Cheongju MBC and currently a professor in the Department of Police Science at Wonkwang Digital University. She joined Ahn’s presidential campaign as a spokesperson and held a press conference that day.
People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo declared his candidacy for the 21st presidential election on the 8th in front of the Admiral Yi Sun-sin statue at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
Despite the explanation, online public opinion was heated as the handwriting of a major politician became an issue at the very start of the presidential race. Some cynically commented, “This is an era where the writing on politicians’ bodies becomes an issue.”
Meanwhile, at the press conference, Ahn expressed “deep reflection and apology” regarding the past unification with former President Yoon. He emphasized, “Martial law was clearly unconstitutional, and the Constitutional Court’s unanimous ruling confirmed this. Now is not the time to dwell on the past. It is time to restore the economy and people’s livelihoods.”
He then targeted Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, saying, “He cannot be free from responsibility for political strife,” and asserted, “I am the only candidate who can win.”
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