Hong Jun-pyo "Top contender falling to second place"... Criticizes Han Dong-hoon

Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo Directly Criticizes Candidate Han Dong-hoon
"The 1-strong 2-middle system has become a 2-strong 1-middle system"

Hong Joon-pyo, the mayor of Daegu, targeted Han Dong-hoon, a candidate for the People Power Party leadership, by stating that "the flow of the party convention is changing."

(From left) Han Dong-hoon, People Power Party presidential candidate, and Hong Jun-pyo, Mayor of Daegu.
Photo by Asia Economy, Daegu City

On the 4th, Mayor Hong mentioned this on his social media service (SNS) Facebook, claiming that "the structure is changing from a 1-strong 2-middle system to a 2-strong 1-middle system, with the 1-strong falling to 1-middle." The figure presumed to have fallen from 1-strong to 1-middle in this statement is candidate Han. Mayor Hong has been continuously criticizing Han, who oversaw the election as the emergency committee chairman after the People Power Party's crushing defeat in the general election.

Mayor Hong said, "A rapid trend to expel candidates who refuse to accompany the regime is changing the flow of the party convention," adding, "Experienced and politically knowledgeable people should lead the crisis, and the main culprits of the general election defeat should now be in self-reflection." He continued, "It is also a spectacle to see the main culprits of the general election defeat bringing out people who have not even been in for a few days and calling them running mates."

Chairman Hong said, "This party convention should show that the party members' whip is fearsome," and added, "I hope it becomes a convention that teaches shameless (厚顔無恥) people what responsible politics is." The term 후안무치 (厚顔無恥) refers to people who are brazen and shameless.

Earlier, on the 26th of last month, Mayor Hong directly criticized candidate Han by saying, "He learned politics very poorly." Mayor Hong continued his criticism of Han, saying, "The first condition for the ruling party leader is to accompany the regime and lay the foundation for re-election, but from the start, he shows clumsy judgment by giving nominations to certain people or bullying and lining them up."

Additionally, Mayor Hong has met three of the four People Power Party leadership candidates so far: Na Kyung-won, Yoon Sang-hyun, and former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong, but he has refused Han's meeting requests. When meeting former Minister Won, Mayor Hong criticized Han, saying, "I cannot accept someone appointed to a position, but after being given emergency authority in the general election and failing miserably, he wants to try again? Those who support that are strange. I do not understand it." In response to the failed meeting with Mayor Hong, candidate Han said, "If he does not want to meet, it would be difficult to see him."