PPP PROTESTS MOON'S DEMAND

[Anchor Lead]

The main opposition People Power Party(PPP) strongly protested President Moon Jae-in's demand for an apology from its presidential candidate regarding remarks on alleged corruption, and accused Moon of election interference. Yoon Suk-yeol himself struck a different note with his party, saying that he was stating the same principle President Moon had also emphasized that no one is off limits when it comes to fighting corruption.

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Following President Moon’s demand for an apology, PPP’s Yoon Suk-yeol appears to be positioning himself to avoid a full-on clash with the president. He explained that just as Moon had stressed in the past, he was also merely sharing the belief that investigations must abide by law, principles and systems. His remark appears to suggest he was only trying to state the fundamental principle.

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk-yeol(PPP Pres. Candidate) : "I share the same view as our President Moon. There is no such word as political retaliation in my dictionary."

Calling Moon as “our president” several times, Yoon seemed to draw a line against any intent to pursue political retaliation by saying he won’t get involved in any kind of inspection or investigation if he becomes president.

[Soundbite] Yoon Suk-yeol(PPP Pres. Candidate) : "I’ve reiterated from this past summer plans to abolish the presidential secretary for civil affairs office."

Meanwhile the PPP’s response was quite different. The party continued to accuse the presidential office of unjust election interference.

[Soundbite] Lee Jun-seok(PPP Chair) : "In order to not to be accused of election meddling, any interference in politics must stop until the election."

PPP’s election headquarters issued a statement that the president and the ruling party should be the ones to apologize. Within the PPP, opinions are split. Some believe Yoon’s remark was unnecessary at this point in time and could serve to rally support of moderate voters who root for the ruling party. Others believe the presidential office’s reaction will rather help strengthen public opinion in support of a power transfer and government change.