Hong Moonpyo: "I Will Make Our Party One That Yoon Seokyeol Wants to Join"

People Power Party Leadership Candidate Interview Series ① Hong Moonpyo
Rebuilding Party Organization for Presidential Victory
"Promise of a Youth Agency"... Targeting the 2030 Generation's Votes

[Asia Economy, reporters Naju Seok and Park Juni] "If our party's fighting spirit and vitality are not visible, former Prosecutor General Yoon Seokyeol will not be able to join us. The most important thing is self-strengthening."

Representative Hong Moonpyo (age 74), who has declared his candidacy for the leadership of the People Power Party, has put the party's reconstruction for a presidential election victory at the forefront. He stated, "The Democratic Party has 820,000 responsible members, whereas we have only 280,000. We must increase this number." He continued, "People keep insisting that we should bring in former Prosecutor General Yoon, but once the system is in place, he will surely come."

Hong Moonpyo, member of the People Power Party. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

He further explained his motivation for running, saying, "Although I have been in politics for a long time, I have never sought positions such as party leader, floor leader, or policy committee chair. Instead, I have supported the party's organization and management." He added, "This time, I realized that even if I am lacking, I must dedicate myself to confronting the Moon Jaein administration head-on, reviving the party, and regaining power." Regarding the presidential candidate nomination process, he said he would adopt a system in which proposals from external organizations are transparently discussed with the candidates before making a final decision.

He also unveiled his plan to strengthen on-site politics. Hong emphasized, "It is not effective to sit in the National Assembly and simply receive reports from government officials about fine dust issues. On-site policies mean that working-level officials should go to areas severely affected by fine dust and work together with local residents." In addition, he pledged to revive local party branches outside the National Assembly constituencies to strengthen the party's organization.

As a special measure to attract young people as a support base, he promised to establish a "Youth Agency." Hong stated, "As the first bill of the 21st National Assembly, I proposed the creation of a Youth Agency to improve the living conditions of young people and provide support through the budget and other means (Government Organization Act)." He added, "If efforts to resolve youth issues continue, our party will also be able to broaden its appeal to centrist voters."