Hong Jun-pyo on 'Who Led the Party Well': "Representative Lee Jun-seok Who Secured the Presidential Victory"

Hong Jun-pyo Criticizes Political Circles After Ruling Party's General Election Defeat
Praises Lee Jun-seok as an Excellent Leader of the Party

After the ruling party's crushing defeat in the general election, Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, who has been continuously criticizing the political sphere, once again mentioned and publicly praised Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the Reform New Party.

(From left) Hong Jun-pyo, Mayor of Daegu, Lee Jun-seok, Representative of the Reform New Party.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 19th, an online community called "Dream of Youth" posted the question, "Who do you think was the party leader who led the party well after the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye?" This platform is an online political community established by Mayor Hong during his tenure as a member of the 21st National Assembly, where young people ask questions and Mayor Hong responds. To this question, Mayor Hong answered, "It is Lee Jun-seok. He brought a fresh breeze to the party and won both the presidential and local elections."

Mayor Hong has recently been praising Lee repeatedly. On the 12th, through his social media (SNS), he spoke about the cause of the party's total defeat in the general election, saying, "We even drove out Lee Jun-seok, whom we ambitiously nurtured, by falsely accusing him of sexual bribery, and the party has become a sunflower party that only looks toward Yongsan." The day after the general election, he also said, "Lee is a decent politician. Congratulations on his election."

Lee seems to be reciprocating Mayor Hong's praise. On the 11th, Lee mentioned Mayor Hong Joon-pyo of Daegu as a successor to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who had expressed his intention to resign, emphasizing, "We should appoint Mayor Hong Joon-pyo of Daegu, who is regarded as refreshing by the younger generation, as prime minister and share a significant part of state affairs with him."

Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo answered "Representative Lee Jun-seok" when asked about "the party leader who led the party well."
[Photo by 'Youth's Dream']

Earlier, on the 16th, it was reported that President Yoon Suk-yeol had dinner with Mayor Hong for about four hours. At that time, President Yoon requested the meeting, saying, "I want to get overall advice on current issues," and it is said that discussions about presidential office aides and cabinet reshuffles took place during this meeting.

Lee succeeded in entering the National Assembly after four attempts in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. The elected official said, "Looking at the results of this election, I think the ruling party has truly received stern judgment from the public," and added, "I hope President Yoon reflects on why the person who led a great victory in the previous nationwide election had to switch parties and run like this."