YOON REBUTS CLAIMS AGAINST HIM

[Anchor Lead]

The People Power Party's presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl met with journalists yesterday to reveal his governing philosophy. But half of the allotted time was focused on the accusations launched against himself and his family. Yoon said the ruling party is trying to hurt him and meddle in the election. Today, he met with leaders of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions.

[Pkg]

Most of the questions directed at Yoon Seok-youl in the earlier part of the discussion had to with the suspicions surrounding himself, his wife and his mother-in-law.

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk-yeol(PPP Presidential Candidate) : "Thank you for asking me about the allegations in detail since I haven’t had a chance to explain them."

He categorically denied political meddling allegations against him. He then said it was illogical to claim that the investigation into Busan Mutual Savings Bank was poor. He said there just wasn’t any evidence to press charges at the time.

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk-yeol(PPP Presidential Candidate) : "The prosecution is trying to find my weaknesses by looking into all the cases I had overseen or investigated."

Yoon also shot down the accusation that he had introduced an attorney to the former head of the Yongsan District Tax Office, who is under police investigation for suspected bribery. He then denounced the prosecution for probing matters not related to the allegation that his wife Kim Kun-hee had been involved in manipulating the stock price of Deutsch Motors. He suggested that somebody had masterminded the leak of the police’s internal investigation reports. As for the probe into suspected improper corporate sponsorship of his wife’s exhibition, he attacked the investigation as election meddling.

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk-yeol(PPP Presidential Candidate) : "Democratic Party members caused such a commotion when I tried to wrap up the case. I think that was definitely election meddling."

Yoon also described the investigation into his mother-in-law’s illegal payoff of nursing allowance as excessive. As for his governing plans, he said he seeks a small and efficient government and plans to downsize the presidential office if he is elected. He added that he cannot retract his campaign pledges on the minimum wage or 52-hour work week. Yoon, meanwhile, met with the leaders of the Federation of Korean Trade Unions and heard their demands.