Choo Kyung-ho, the floor leader of the People Power Party, is seen speaking at a Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 4th. (Seoul = News1) Senior Reporter Park Tae-hoon reports that the pro-Han Dong-hoon faction within the People Power Party is expressing discomfort over Choo Kyung-ho’s suggestion to the president for a ‘prompt statement’, leading to a public address and press conference decision, wondering if it might amount to ‘bypassing Han Dong-hoon’.
On the 5th, Choo visited the presidential office on the afternoon of the 4th and suggested that it would be beneficial to engage with the public as soon as possible, ideally before the overseas trip to enhance national understanding. He mentioned he received information about the address announcement before it was notified to the press by the presidential office.
On CBS Radio’s ‘Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show’ on the 6th, Jang Dong-hyuk, a prominent member of the pro-Han faction, was asked about the unusual nature of disclosing the behind-the-scenes story of the president’s earlier press conference, to which he responded, “Revealing the process of how the address came about and conveying it to the public is political messaging.”
He further commented, “Showing a change in approach could cultivate new expectations for the address, but if it seems like ‘this is how it happened,’ people might think it’s no different from before.”
When the host remarked that Choo’s comment, “It was my suggestion that was accepted,” seemed to give an impression of bypassing Han Dong-hoon amidst his various messages at Yongsan on the morning of the 4th, Jang acknowledged it might not be a pleasant situation for Han.
However, Jang added, “Han didn’t comment much on it. He’s surprisingly cool,” showing caution against prolonging the ‘bypassing Han Dong-hoon’ controversy.
Jang later spoke about what the president’s address should include on the 7th, stating, “The answer lies in public sentiment. Following that is crucial.”
In essence, he emphasized the need for a clear stance on current concerns and recent issues, suggesting that what Han Dong-hoon proposed should be a necessary condition but not entirely sufficient. He stressed, “In politics, when expressing a position, you must go a step further than expected to resonate with the public,” indicating that simply explaining would fall short compared to a full apology or expression of regret, similar to the ‘Conviction Dialogue’ on February 7.