Hong Joon-pyo "If we become nuclear slaves, we have no choice but to comply with North Korea's demands... NATO-style nuclear sharing is necessary"

Presidential Candidate Relay Interview⑧ Hong Jun-pyo, People Power Party Member
"The President's Role Is to Place, Manage, and Control Talents in the Right Places"

[Interview = Shin Beom-su, Head of Political Department at Asia Economy; Summary = Reporters Na Ju-seok, Geum Bo-ryeong] The zeitgeist proposed by Hong Joon-pyo, a member of the People Power Party, is a "developed nation." From a security perspective, he pursues "armed peace" with strong power. He advocates the introduction of a "NATO-style nuclear sharing policy" to counter North Korea's nuclear threat. This is a strategy of six European NATO countries to respond to Russian nuclear missiles. These six countries deploy U.S. strategic and tactical nuclear weapons and then share the nuclear launch button. Hong pointed out, "Isn't North Korea a more dangerous place than the Russian front in Europe right now?"

Hong Joon-pyo, Member of the People Power Party./Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

Hong said, "I talked about (the NATO-style nuclear sharing policy) even in the presidential election five years ago, but no one wanted to listen or understand," raising his voice, "Was I wrong? Has North Korea's nuclear program been dismantled?" He added, "Right now, COVID-19 feels difficult, but neither politicians, the public, nor the media realize how critical South Korea's security situation is," and warned, "If we become nuclear slaves, we will have no choice but to give North Korea whatever it demands." Regarding inter-Korean relations, Hong said, "When the administration changes, we should move toward mutual non-interference," explaining, "South Korea operates under liberal democracy, North Korea under communism, and after competing without interference, unification will occur if one system collapses, like East and West Germany."

He has also been presenting a blueprint befitting a developed country daily. Regarding the unanimous approval of South Korea's international status as a developed country by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on the 2nd, he expressed joy, saying, "Shouldn't this be designated as a national holiday?" Around this time, through his SNS posts titled 'JP's Hope Letters,' he has proposed tax reforms focusing on real estate measures, corporate tax and income tax cuts, as well as administrative reforms such as reducing central government ministries to ten and reorganizing the country into 40 autonomous local governments.

In the interview, he emphasized the importance of governance philosophy and leadership skills over specific economic policy directions or details. Hong said, "The president's role is to place talents in the right positions, manage, and control them." He referred to former President Chun Doo-hwan entrusting economic affairs to the late Kim Jae-ik, economic chief, saying, "Did former President Chun even know the 'economy' at all? The economy was stable at that time because he fully trusted and supported Chief Kim."