Hong Joon-pyo "Regrettable to Label Each Other as Criminals and Debate Prison..."
People Power Party presidential candidate Hong Jun-pyo is speaking at a press conference urging a special prosecution on the Daejang-dong corruption case held at the Daegu City Party on the 20th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] On the 20th, Hong Joon-pyo, a presidential primary candidate from the People Power Party, said of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate and Governor of Gyeonggi Province, and Yoon Seok-youl, his intra-party rival and former Prosecutor General, "When I become the opposition candidate, I suddenly thought that both of them might end up in prison."
In a post on his Facebook on the same day, Hong said, "Seeing candidates Lee Jae-myung and Yoon Seok-youl arguing about who will go to prison these days, I truly feel that the Korean presidential election is turning into something like 'Squid Game,'" expressing this sentiment.
He pointed out, "The presidential election should be about designing the future of the Republic of Korea," adding, "It is regrettable that they are labeling each other as criminals and engaging in debates about prison."
He continued, "So that the next presidential election does not end with disputes over criminal charges, I hope party members, families, and the public will firmly support the clean Hong Joon-pyo in the final primary," adding, "In opinion polls, only I overwhelmingly beat candidate Lee beyond the margin of error."
Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung is responding to questions during the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee's audit of the Gyeonggi Provincial Government held on the 20th at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government office in Paldal-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Earlier, Governor Lee and former Prosecutor General Yoon exchanged classical idioms and poems in a war of nerves related to the Daejang-dong scandal.
On the 19th, Lee posted on his Facebook the classical idiom 'Taesan Myeongdong Seoilpil' along with the phrase "Now is the time to catch the rat." This idiom means "Though Mount Tai shook as if it would collapse, only a single rat came out."
This seems to highlight that although the People Power Party vowed to investigate the 'Lee Jae-myung Gate' during the Gyeonggi Province audit on the same day, they failed to uncover any significant suspicions and are preparing to counterattack.
In response, former Prosecutor General Yoon quoted a poem called 'Inohaeng' by Jeong Yak-yong.
Yoon posted on his Facebook a piece titled "Dasan Jeong Yak-yong’s message to candidate Lee Jae-myung," stating, "Jeong Yak-yong once sharply satirized the reality where thieves and the officials who should catch them colluded, likening them to rats and cats bribed by rats in his poem 'Inohaeng'." This metaphor refers to those involved in the Daejang-dong development project scandal as 'thieves' and Lee as the 'official who should catch the thieves' but colluded with them.
He added, "At the end of last year, the Blue House disparaged the prosecution’s indictment of former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk as 'Taesan Myeongdong Seoilpil,' and now candidate Lee uses the exact same phrase to describe the Daejang-dong Gate," criticizing him.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
