'Approval rating will fall further'

'Thank you, Han Dong-hoon, for fighting'

People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won. [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won. [Yonhap]

People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won on Monday sharply criticized President Lee Jae Myung's press conference, saying she had expected him to say he would stand trial but that the statement was absent — and that the latter part of his remarks amounted to an "out-of-body experience."

Appearing on CBS's Park Sung-tae's News Show that day, Na assessed Lee's press conference on Friday with the phrase "hoped for the best, got the worst."

"There were two things the public was interested in," Na said. "One was a sincere word from the president on why the constitutional order is being destroyed like this, and the second was on the collapse of people's livelihoods — the stock market, the real estate market, single-stock leveraged ETFs and the like."

"On both counts, the answers he gave were ultimately completely at odds with what the public was thinking," she added.

Na said she was "deeply disappointed" by Lee's response to questions about single-stock leveraged ETFs, in which the president said, "Someone must have decided it."

"Even setting aside my perspective as an opposition politician, and looking at it through the eyes of an ordinary citizen, the president — the person ultimately responsible for state affairs — showing that kind of attitude was a disappointment to the public," she said. "He must have wanted to recover his approval rating, but I think it will fall further."

On constitutional reform, Na drew a line, saying she had "no desire to discuss it any further." She said the presidential press conference had failed to help matters, that ministerial nominee Kim Seung-won would ultimately have no choice but to resign given sexual misconduct allegations and alleged embezzlement of party funds at the Gyeonggi Province chapter of the Democratic Party, and asked rhetorically, "Hasn't all of this already been reported to the party?"

"They're the ones getting backed into a corner, so what are they going to do now?" she said. "Suddenly they're talking about a constitutional referendum early next year as a way to change the subject. The public won't be fooled."

Na said the personnel controversy warranted a direct apology from Cheong Wa Dae. "I think the president needs to personally apologize in connection with nominee Kim's withdrawal," she said. "I also think it is necessary to replace the personnel vetting line at Cheong Wa Dae — particularly Chief of Staff Kim Hyun-ji, who goes by the nickname 'the fixer,' along with the broader personnel line there."

On fellow lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, Na offered measured praise. "Thank you for fighting hard to bring down nominee Kim Seung-won — I give you high marks for that," she said, while drawing a line on the question of his return to the party. "Fighting hard and coming back to the party are two separate things that should not be lumped together."


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