Reenactment of 'Mangdung-eo' Feud? Hong-Yoon Verbal Clash Over 'Preliminary Feasibility Study Easing'

Yoon Hee-sook "Don't Show Your Kkondae Nature"
Hong Joon-pyo "Kkondae Is Just an Imposed Image"

Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo and former lawmaker Yoon Hee-sook engaged in a heated debate over the 'easing of preliminary feasibility studies (PFS).'

When former lawmaker Yoon raised her voice, warning that "the entire country could turn into a construction site ahead of the general election," Mayor Hong countered by saying, "Easing the PFS is about overcoming the unipolar dominance of the metropolitan area." A 'kkondae' (old-fashioned, authoritarian) dispute also erupted. When Yoon told him, "Don't show your kkondae tendencies," Mayor Hong pointed out that it was merely "an attempt to label me with the kkondae image." An old emotional conflict also flared up over Yoon's resignation from the National Assembly due to her father's land speculation allegations.

Yoon Hee-sook: "Easing PFS Will Turn the Country into a Construction Site Before the General Election"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 19th, former lawmaker Yoon raised her voice on her social media (SNS), saying, "This is the second time you have said that I resigned from my lawmaker position due to land speculation allegations. Since you are a former prosecutor, you must understand the importance of factual accuracy, so at this point, I think this is a cunning intentional distortion." She added, "I resigned from my position out of moral responsibility for my 'father's' violation of the Farmland Act."

Yoon's 'fact correction' on SNS was in response to Mayor Hong's SNS post earlier that day. He wrote on SNS, "I thought someone who resigned from the National Assembly due to land speculation allegations would quietly reflect, but recently, he has been appearing in the media and acting recklessly with a narrow perspective," targeting former lawmaker Yoon.

Mayor Hong's attack was apparently triggered by Yoon's appearance on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 14th, where she mentioned airports being built nationwide while discussing the exemption of PFS, recalling an anecdote about drying chili peppers at Muan Airport. Although Yoon did not mention the TK (Daegu-Gyeongbuk) new airport, Mayor Hong seemed to interpret her radio remarks as criticism of the TK new airport, saying, "She disparages the TK new airport by calling it an airport for drying chili peppers."

In response, Yoon said, "I have never uttered a single word about the TK new airport in my life. I have no knowledge of whether the TK new airport has project feasibility or policy legitimacy," emphasizing, "What I expressed on the broadcast was concern that, as the general election approaches, the lightning-fast bipartisan cooperation to ease preliminary feasibility standards could turn the entire country into a construction site before the election." Recently, the ruling and opposition parties pushed for the National Finance Act, which would significantly ease the criteria for exempting large-scale fiscal projects from PFS, but decided to postpone it considering public opinion backlash.

Yoon, a former researcher at the Korea Development Institute (KDI), defended herself, saying, "I don't know on what basis it is said that I have never even been near balanced national development. I have been the lead researcher on PFS projects centered on balanced national development, including the National Jeju University Hospital and Kyungpook National University Hospital, and have earnestly considered what the path to balanced development is." This was a rebuttal to Mayor Hong's SNS comment that she had "never even been near aviation policy and balanced national development."

Regarding Mayor Hong's use of the word 'spoiled' to describe her, Yoon said, "Don't proudly show off such kkondae tendencies," adding, "Although I am a junior, I am a professional and a politician, so calling me 'spoiled' is inappropriate."

Hong Jun-pyo: "Current System Does Not Produce PFS for Infrastructure Outside the Metropolitan Area"

Two hours after Yoon's SNS post, Mayor Hong fired back on SNS. He refuted Yoon's opinion that easing PFS would create a construction site before the general election, saying, "Easing PFS is being promoted with the aim of overcoming the unipolar dominance of the metropolitan area and achieving balanced national development," adding, "Under the current PFS system, no feasibility studies are conducted for infrastructure outside the metropolitan area, which only intensifies the metropolitan area's unipolar dominance."

Although easing PFS is generally perceived as synonymous with 'populism,' voices have recently emerged saying that "there are cases where easing PFS is necessary," especially after concerns about the Gimpo Gold Line crush accident surfaced.

Mayor Hong raised his voice, saying, "To promote regional dispersion, it is inevitable to install social overhead capital evenly in local areas to lay the foundation for population dispersion policies through balanced regional development. It is puzzling how someone who worked at a public institution and briefly served as a lawmaker can have such a distorted view, saying it only leaves debts for future generations or commits sins against history."

Regarding the 'kkondae' criticism directed at him, he responded, "Labeling me as kkondae is a desperate counterargument to avoid the essence. By age alone, I am indeed a kkondae, but how many so-called 4-dimensional kkondaes are there now?self-aggrandizing youth politicians lost in their own fantasies?"

This is not the first time former lawmaker Yoon and Mayor Hong have clashed. Their bad blood dates back to 2021. At that time, Yoon declared her presidential bid, and Mayor Hong, who had rejoined the party, caused controversy by saying in a chatroom with all party lawmakers, "When the mullet jumps, the mudfish also jumps." Yoon retorted, "Many people say the mudfish jumps because the mullet jumps," and former party leader Lee Jun-seok criticized it as "an inappropriate remark."

In May last year, ahead of a by-election, they also exchanged heated words regarding the candidacy of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, in Incheon Gyeyang District.

Mayor Hong wrote on SNS, "You resigned from your lawmaker position due to real estate speculation allegations not long ago, but you criticize the party leader and Ahn Cheol-soo (lawmaker) for not running in Incheon, mistakenly overestimating your status. Seeing you ridicule the nomination process by saying you would run if given a 'hitman nomination' in a place with no ties, I think that's not right."

This was a critique of former lawmaker Yoon's statement on MBN's 'Pressroom' the previous day, where she said, "It would be right for leaders like Lee Jun-seok or Ahn Cheol-soo to run in Gyeyang District and have a very fine fight," but also added, "If the party tells me to step aside, I will comply."

Yoon immediately responded on SNS, saying, "I never requested a nomination for Gyeyang District, and when asked in an interview, I only said that although it is a tough district, I would follow the party's request if needed," and clarified, "I again clearly state that I have never engaged in any real estate transactions that could raise speculation suspicions."