Two lawyers who represented former President Yoon Suk Yeol in his impeachment trial abruptly canceled a press conference Thursday, just hours after announcing plans to launch a new political party under the slogan “Yoon Again,” named after the disgraced ex-president.
Attorneys Kim Gye-ri and Bae Ui-cheol — who had served on Yoon’s impeachment defense team — initially notified the press that they would hold a press briefing Friday in Yeouido, Seoul, to introduce the “Yoon Again” political party.
The plan was announced in a group chatroom on KakaoTalk that Bae had created and used to invite nearly 600 journalists. In his message, Bae wrote, “The five attorneys from the former president’s legal team will hold a press conference related to a new party tomorrow.”
However, the chatroom soon drew criticism from reporters who questioned Bae’s acquisition and use of their private contact information.
Following the backlash, Bae apologized and instead opened a new public-access chatroom. That chatroom, however, was closed within four hours, after it was flooded with images and messages from Yoon’s supporters, effectively derailing communication.
Before closing the chatroom, Kim and Bae issued a joint statement saying they had decided to postpone the event, citing concerns that the initiative might lead to misunderstandings about the impeached former president's intentions.
“In the ongoing context of a potential early presidential election, officially launching a party may spark speculation that the president is trying to wield influence or pursue political ambitions — which is not what we intended,” they said.
They also noted that Yoon had personally asked them to refrain from holding the press event, reportedly saying, “Now is the time to unite our strength.”
Explaining the motivation behind the proposed party, the two said it was aimed at representing the voices of young conservatives and pro-freedom voters whom the ruling People Power Party “can no longer contain.”
Regarding Yoon's involvement, Seok Dong-hyun, another attorney and former member of his legal team, dismissed the claims, stressing that the former president had no role in the initiative.
“He is not in any way participating in or connected to the party's formation,” Seok said, adding that “legal representation and political activity should be kept entirely separate.”
The People Power Party, meanwhile, distanced itself from the move. Jang Ye-chan, a former senior party official and prominent Yoon loyalist, criticized the effort in a Facebook post.
“Creating a new party is a strategic blunder that harms not only the conservative bloc but also former President Yoon himself,” Jang wrote. “I hope this is not just a political stunt to sell ‘Yoon’s intentions’ using naive young people for someone else’s political gain.”
flylikekite@heraldcorp.com
