Pro-Han and pro-Yoon factions make different evaluations over PPP leadership’s dinner with Yoon

Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People\'s Power Party, shakes hands with PPP lawmaker Yoo Yong-won at a seminar at the National Assembly on September 25. Reporter Park Min-gyu

The pro-Han Dong-hoon and pro-Yoon Suk-yeol factions are making different evaluations over the dinner of the People's Power Party (PPP) leadership, including President Yoon Suk-yeol and the party leader Han Dong-hoon, which was held on September 24. The pro-Han faction complained that Han arrived early to the dinner and was not given the opportunity to speak one-on-one with the president to discuss pending issues, while the pro-Yoon faction countered that Han was given enough opportunities to speak and the atmosphere was cordial.

“There are various pending issues, and Han requested a private meeting with the president to have an in-depth conversation, but for one reason or another, the meeting was not held,” Jang Dong-hyuk, a leading pro-Han figure, said on SBS Radio on the 25th. ”For those who had hoped to have a full conversation about the issues, even if it was not a private meeting, they would think it was a pity that it was just a dinner and it ended without results.”

Jang added, “As it was a dinner meeting, the party leader would have prepared for it, thinking that he would have at least had the opportunity to make a toast or say hello. But there was no such opportunity, so I think that's why Han asked for a private meeting as soon as possible.”

At the dinner, Han had asked Hong Chul-ho, the senior presidential secretary for political affairs, again to meet with Yoon.

Shin Ji-ho, the head of the PPP’s Strategic Planning Department, also said on Channel A YouTube channel, "I heard that they offered Omija juice (at dinner) in consideration of Han who do not drink alcohol, but some say that 'no alcohol' was a preliminary paving the way for 'no toast.’" A pro-Han figure said, “How can Han talk about the medical-political conflict when the president is talking about nuclear power plants? it's ridiculous.”

PPP’s Supreme Council member Kim Jong-hyuk also said on CBS radio, "It is true that the people were very interested in what would be said about various issues related to people's livelihood, the medical-political conflict, and First Lady Kim Keon-hee. But there was no such discussion at all, so I left with a heavy heart."

He said Han had arrived at the dinner early in anticipation of a private meeting with Yoon. “I think Han also expected that the president would come a little early and say, Han, let's talk together for a minute,” Kim said. Explaining the reason behind Han's repeated request for a private meeting, he said that Han “asked for a one-on-one meeting because there would be criticism that he was not able to talk about anything and he only ate during the dinner.”

On the other hand, the PPP’s floor leader Chu Kyung-ho, a pro-Yoon figure, told reporters at the National Assembly that "it's all against the essence, and the briefing (of the presidential office) is the most accurate."

The presidential office said in a briefing the day before that the dinner was cordial and that the achievements of nuclear power plant orders were mentioned.

“I don't think there was an atmosphere that prevented Han from speaking,” Kim Jae-won, PPP’s Supreme Council member, said on MBC radio in response to claims that Han was not given a chance to speak. ”I think Han himself thought that he would not speak at the dinner.”

“I felt like Han was deliberately not speaking. If he had the will, he could have said what he wanted to say,” an attendee of the presidential office said. ”I cannot help but question his intention of having a private meeting with Yoon."

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.