Hong Jun-pyo Launches Fierce Attack on Kim Jae-won
Conflict Between Candidate and Supreme Council Member During 2022 Presidential Election
Direct Clash Over Nomination Rules in Daegu Mayor Primary
Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo has been continuously targeting Kim Jae-won, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, who has been embroiled in controversy over remarks praising Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church. On the 29th and the previous day (28th), Hong posted on Facebook twice, demanding the party leadership expel Kim, saying "He is of no help in the general election."
When Kim was embroiled in controversy over his remarks that the spirit of the May 18 Democratic Uprising should not be included in the constitution, Mayor Hong also posted on Facebook, stating, "A reckless liar brings harm to the party and therefore should be expelled for the sake of the party." The strained relationship between Mayor Hong and former Supreme Council member Kim is well known in political circles.
On the afternoon of April 19, 2022, at TBC Daegu Broadcasting in Dusan-dong, Suseong-gu, Daegu, during the "8th Local Election People Power Party Daegu Mayor Candidate Debate," from the left, former Supreme Council Member Kim Jae-won, Congressman Hong Joon-pyo, and Attorney Yoo Young-ha are taking a commemorative photo before the debate. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Their broken relationship became apparent around the 2022 presidential election. Mayor Hong competed against President Yoon Suk-yeol in the People Power Party's presidential primary, while Kim served as a Supreme Council member under former leader Lee Jun-seok.
At that time, Kim sparked controversy by saying on a YouTube broadcast that "Hong Joon-pyo's chances of winning are slim," and Mayor Hong's side reacted by calling it "inappropriate conduct for party leadership" and requested disciplinary action against Kim. Although Kim later apologized to Mayor Hong, their relationship never recovered.
Subsequently, Mayor Hong launched a fierce attack on Kim by pointing out that Kim was the Chief Political Secretary at the Blue House during the late Park Geun-hye administration, calling him "the main culprit behind the downfall of the conservative regime."
Their decisive clash occurred during the June 1 local elections last year. Mayor Hong and Kim competed for the People Power Party's Daegu mayoral candidacy.
However, severe internal party conflicts arose over the nomination rules until the candidate was finalized. At that time, the People Power Party applied a nomination rule that deducted 10% for incumbent lawmakers and 15% for those with a history of running as independents. Mayor Hong was subject to both rules, resulting in a total 25% deduction.
Mayor Hong protested, claiming the nomination rules were targeted at him. Particularly, the fact that the nomination rules were decided by the Supreme Council, which included Kim who declared his candidacy for Daegu mayor, was criticized. It was argued that it was unfair for Kim, who was running in the election, to be involved in setting the nomination rules. Eventually, the People Power Party relaxed the regulations, and Mayor Hong was only subjected to a 10% deduction.
Mayor Hong secured 49.46% of the votes in the Daegu mayoral primary, defeating former Supreme Council member Kim and lawyer Yoo Young-ha, a close aide of former President Park Geun-hye, becoming the final candidate and winning the election. The nomination battle is a fierce battlefield that even creates enemies within the same party.
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