Hong Jun-pyo's 'Nomination Demand'... Yoon Seok-yeol "No Intention to Directly Involve in Nomination"
Jeon Yeo-ok, former Saenuri Party (predecessor of the People Power Party) lawmaker. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Amid controversy over People Power Party lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo demanding strategic nominations for former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung and others from presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol, former Saenuri Party (the predecessor of People Power Party) lawmaker Jeon Yeo-ok raised her voice in criticism on the 20th, saying, "Only 'thugs' would do such things."
On the same day, former lawmaker Jeon said on her Facebook, "In the middle of the presidential election, you inserted a 'by-election nomination right'? Hong Joon-pyo, seriously, why are you doing this?"
She wrote, "The ticking clock toward the presidential election is piercing our hearts. When I heard that Yoon Seok-yeol and Hong Joon-pyo met yesterday, I thought, 'Is he finally ending his stubbornness?'" adding, "There were two demands: the in-law issue (strict crackdown on corruption) and others. I broadly understood it, thinking (Hong lawmaker) wanted to make a final show."
She continued, "About 50 days before the presidential election, taking care of his own people in the by-election?why does Hong lawmaker’s remark, 'Isn't Yoon still better than a thug?' sound so bitterly laughable in front of people fighting for their lives against the left-wing regime?"
She also pointed out, "Nearly 30 years in a conservative party, is this the level of Hong Joon-pyo?" and criticized, "Former Chairman Choi must also clarify his stance. Clinging to Hong Joon-pyo’s pants and seeking a strategic nomination in Jongno is disgraceful."
Former lawmaker Jeon sharply said, "(Former Chairman Choi) should say, 'If I run in Jongno, I will compete fairly in the primary.' If it were me, I would not run in the by-election at all. I would say, 'I will fully support candidate Yoon to win the presidential election.'"
Furthermore, she said, "Candidate Yoon is currently fighting a desperate battle. They (the ruling party) share a common understanding that if they lose power, they all die, so from Lee Jae-myung to Jeong Cheong-rae, they will unite tightly," adding, "In the midst of this, demanding nomination rights is truly absurd. From the public’s perspective, it is simply arrogant."
Earlier, on the 19th, after a private dinner meeting with candidate Yoon, lawmaker Hong posted on his political platform 'Youth’s Dream' that he would participate as a standing adviser to the central election campaign committee if Yoon agreed to two requests: 'measures to guarantee national governance capability' and a 'public declaration to strictly punish corruption in the in-law family.'
Among these, it became controversial that during the meeting, Hong reportedly demanded that former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung and former Daegu Suseong District Mayor Lee Jin-hoon, who supported him in the primary, be nominated for the March 9 parliamentary by-elections held alongside the presidential election, in Seoul Jongno and Daegu Jung-nam districts respectively.
Regarding this, candidate Yoon said in a press conference at the Yeouido party office that morning, "I do not intend to directly intervene in nomination matters," adding, "(Nominations) will be entrusted to a fair committee."
He further stated, "The principle is to make nominations based on fair principles," and added, "We have established the principle that the nomination management committee will follow fair standards and methods."
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