Won Hee-ryong "Lee Jun-seok, come here for a moment" informal speech angers Hong... Lee says "We are on casual terms"

Hong Jun-pyo's Sharp Rebuke: "They Have No Manners"
Won Hee-ryong: "I Don't Even Speak Informally to Lee in Private"

People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok and co-election committee chairperson Professor Lee Soo-jung of Kyonggi University shake hands at the People Power Party membership ceremony of lawmaker Lee Yong-ho held at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 7th. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Hong Joon-pyo, a member of the National Assembly, directly criticized former Jeju Mayor Won Hee-ryong, who is serving as the Policy General Director of the People Power Party's Election Countermeasures Committee, for speaking informally to People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok with phrases like "Come here for a moment," saying "They have no manners."

Earlier, on the 7th, during the induction ceremony of independent lawmaker Lee Yong-ho into the party, former Governor Won, who had previously opposed the recruitment of Co-vice Chairwoman Lee Soo-jung, encouraged Leader Lee to shake hands with her, speaking informally with phrases such as "Come here for a moment," and "You two, shake hands."

In response, Leader Lee awkwardly bowed and shook hands with Vice Chairwoman Lee. However, some party members expressed dissatisfaction upon seeing this, and Assemblyman Hong also criticized it.

On the 8th, on the 'Cheongmun Hongdap' board of the communication channel 'Youth's Dream' created by Assemblyman Hong, a post was uploaded with the gist of "Why is the level of senior party members who speak informally to Leader Lee Jun-seok just because he is younger like this?" The author of the post mentioned, "In a company, if you speak informally just because someone is younger, you get fired immediately."

In response, Assemblyman Hong briefly replied, "Because they have no manners."

Regarding this, former Governor Won explained on his Facebook, "Please do not misunderstand," adding, "At that time, to soften the atmosphere on site, I said, 'Come here for a moment. Shake hands,' in an informal way. I do not speak informally when I talk with Leader Lee privately either."

Leader Lee also referred to Assemblyman Hong's response, saying, "Since I became party leader, I am always grateful that Leader Hong has treated me with great respect. Perhaps because Leader Hong has served as party leader twice, he places great importance on the strict hierarchy of the party, which seems to be reflected in this." He added, "I always gain great strength from Leader Hong's attitude."

He continued, "However, separately from that, I also highly value the informal communication relationship I have had with Governor Won for over the past ten years," adding, "Although there are sometimes misunderstandings, Governor Won has always been a good advisor to me and an older brother from whom I have much to learn."