‘Luxury bag suspicion’ government conflict peak, text message to Han Dong-hoon in crisis
Kim Yeosa “Would have felt uncomfortable with President Yoon’s stance, really sorry”… Also referred to as “comrade” to Han,
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President Yoon Seok-yeol and candidate Han Dong-hoon
(Incheon=Yonhap News) Reporter Hong Hae-in = President Yoon Seok-yeol and Han Dong-hoon, the leading contender for the leadership of the People’s Power Party, listening to the commemorative speech of Kang Seok-ho, president of the Korea Freedom Federation, at the 70th anniversary of the founding ceremony of the Korea Freedom Federation held at Namdong Gymnasium in Incheon on the 4th.,
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, ‘(Seoul=Yonhap News) By Lee Yu-mi and An Chae-won = On the 8th, the original texts of five text messages sent by Kim Geon-hee, the wife of former Prime Minister Han Dong-hoon, who was the emergency response director at the time, during the political crisis over the luxury bag suspicion in January were revealed through media reports.’,
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, ‘ On that day, TV Chosun reported the full texts of the five text messages that Kim sent to the candidate on five different occasions between January 15 and 25.’,
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, ‘ According to the report, in the first text on January 15, Kim told the candidate, “You seemed uncomfortable with the President and my special prosecutor issue, so I will apologize instead” and said, “You seem frustrated that you have been politically exploited for so long, please understand generously.”‘,
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, ” January 15 marked the tenth day since President Yoon Seok-yeol exercised his veto power over the ‘Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act’ pushed through by the opposition party.”,
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, ” The part where Kim said, ‘You seemed uncomfortable with the President and my special prosecutor issue,’ implies that there was a conflict between President Yoon and the candidate over the ‘Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act.'”,
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, ‘ Kim then suggested, “I will apologize a hundred times over. How about having a call or meeting with V (President Yoon) once?”‘,
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, ‘ In the second text sent on the same day, Kim said, “Everything is my fault” and also said, “I feel that I am not suitable or qualified for this position. I am sorry.”‘,
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, ‘ On January 18, the candidate expressed his view on the luxury bag suspicion involving Kim Yeosa, saying, “I think there were parts that the public might be worried about.” It was interpreted as mentioning Kim Yeosa\’s accountability. Earlier on the 17th, Kim Gyeong-ryul, a former member of the executive committee, likened Kim Yeosa to “Marie Antoinette,” the queen of France during the revolution.’,
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, ‘ In the third text on January 19, Kim said, “Because of my carelessness, things keep escalating, and I am sincerely sorry. If apologizing resolves the situation, I want to apologize a thousand times.”‘,
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, ‘ She then added, “However, due to the possibility of the issue escalating to sincere controversy and accountability, it\’s not easy to make a decision. But if it is decided at the level of the executive committee that apologizing is appropriate, I will go along with that decision.”‘,
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, ‘ Two days later, in the fourth text on January 23, Kim said, “A few days ago, I heard that I was planning to use the commenting team to denigrate the chairman and those around him. I was so surprised and dismayed.”‘,
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, ‘ Referring to the candidate as a “comrade,” she wrote, “You have been a comrade who has gone through life and death together with me so far, so I feel embarrassed that I can suspect you of attacking a counterpart just because things don\’t quite match.” She added, “I was also very hurt by the extreme wording of Kim Gyeong-ryul, the accountant, but I decided to understand it as various opinions from the chairman.”‘,
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, ‘ Kim said, “This is a situation where I am greatly in the wrong. I hope not to harm the efforts of those who have walked the path of suffering so far because of me” and reiterated, “If the chairman deems that an ‘apology’ is still needed despite everything, I will firmly resolve to do so.”‘,
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, ‘ In the final text on January 25, Kim said, “I think you must have felt upset by the strong words of the President on a past issue” and wrote, “You have taken on the responsibility of the executive committee up to this point, and I express my sincere regret for having heard words that must have been very upsetting.”‘,
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, ‘ She added, “There is nothing to say as everything stems from my fault” and said, “I hope both of you can have a meal together soon and resolve any misunderstandings. I am truly sorry.”‘,
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, ‘ The candidate did not respond to Kim\’s five text messages. It was deemed inappropriate to have private communication in a situation where public discussions were taking place between the ruling and opposition parties.’,
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, ‘ With the release of Kim Yeosa\’s text messages, the battle among the candidate and other contenders for the party leadership, as well as between the pro-Yoon (pro-Yoon Seok-yeol) faction and the pro-Han (pro-Han Dong-hoon) faction, is expected to intensify.’,
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, ” Pro-Yoon officials claim that the pro-Han camp is distorting the content of Kim Yeosa’s text messages, who clearly expressed a ‘willingness to apologize,’ and the pro-Han side continues to emphasize that they will not apologize, leveraging the framework of ‘no intervention by the party leadership.'”,
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, ‘ yumi@yna.co.kr’,
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