Hong Jun-pyo "Suddenly running in Bundang? ... Seeking only prime land after receiving the president's favor"

"'Narado Salgetda' Only... Will This Election Really Happen?"
"Even Those Going to Tough Districts Attend Far-Right Pastor Events"

Hong Jun-pyo, the mayor of Daegu, criticized ministers and former presidential office officials aiming to run in the Seongnam Bundang district in next year's general election, saying, "It looks difficult to win the general election."

On the 8th, Mayor Hong posted on his social media (SNS), "If the president is struggling, those who have received favors should voluntarily go to difficult districts, but seeing everyone only looking for safe districts to save themselves does not help the general election at all," he said.

Recently, after President Yoon Suk-yeol's cabinet reshuffle, ministers and former senior officials have been competing to express their desire to run in the 'Bundang-eul' district, leading to a tense situation. Bundang-eul is currently the constituency of Kim Byung-wook of the Democratic Party of Korea, but since conservative party candidates have won there in the past, it is also classified as a conservative-leaning area.

Park Min-sik, Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs, directly expressed his intention to run in Bundang-eul on a broadcast, and it is reported that Kim Eun-hye, former presidential office spokesperson, and Lee Young, Minister of SMEs and Startups, are also considering running in Bundang-eul.

Regarding this, Mayor Hong criticized, "There are many misconceptions among former presidential office officials, such as people who mistake a rented house for their own home, those who should reclaim the Busan district but ignore it and want to run in Bundang, and those who enjoy all kinds of benefits and suddenly want to run in Bundang."

Mayor Hong also directly targeted Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, who recently caused controversy by attending a rally led by the far-right pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon, saying, "The only person willing to go to a difficult district even foolishly started by attending an event of an extreme right-wing pastor, so things are already going wrong from the start ahead of the general election."

He continued, "The leadership is blocking innovation with a vested interest cartel, and all the celebrities who want to run are gathering only in safe districts. Do you think the general election will be successful like that?" and added, "There is still time, so I hope things will be properly sorted out."