Hong Jun-pyo "Gift to Myeong Tae-gyun? No such swindler on our list"

Hong Jun-pyo Denies Allegations of Connection with Myeong Tae-gyun
"Tried Everything to Link Us but No Connection Found"
"Unpleasant and Disturbing"

Hong Joon-pyo, Mayor of Daegu Metropolitan City. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo

Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo denied allegations that he sent gifts to Myung Tae-gyun, stating, "I will not be played by the schemes of a fraudster."

On the 2nd, Mayor Hong posted on his social media account, "They are trying all sorts of things to link me with Myung Tae-gyun, but there is absolutely nothing connected to us." He continued, "Investigate thoroughly. The claim that I sent gifts to Myung Tae-gyun is because Choi Yong-hwi used my name arbitrarily and sent gifts twice. There is no such fraudster on our gift list."

He stated, "Choi Yong-hwi was an office worker in Changwon, but after getting involved in politics, he started associating with Myung Tae-gyun and, through his arrangement, became an aide to Assemblyman Kim Young-sun. I was also informed after this incident that Myung Tae-gyun was the one who suggested running for Seocho City Council." Furthermore, he said, "Choi Yong-hwi’s work at the Daegu City Seoul Office was accepted as a countermeasure by the National Assembly upon recommendation from a secretary of our camp who is from the same hometown, after he retired following the accusation against Assemblyman Kim and was idle. After the incident broke out, we investigated the facts and immediately made him retire. I will not be played by the schemes of such a fraudster, at least."

Additionally, he criticized, "It is truly wrong behavior that a female accomplice of a fraudster who manipulates public opinion pretends to be a righteous person and, like female Kim Dae-up, disturbs the world with lies." He questioned, "Wasn't the accomplice who manipulated public opinion during the presidential candidate primary none other than Myung Tae-gyun and Kang Hye-kyung? Shouldn't that woman have gone to jail just for that? Is it proper investigation to let her act like a righteous person?" He concluded, "Do not associate me with someone like Myung Tae-gyun. It is unpleasant and offensive."

Moreover, through an additional post, Mayor Hong expressed outrage, saying, "Investigate and expose the person who claimed to be an insider saying that Myung Tae-gyun’s group was commissioned to conduct my opinion polls." He added, "During the presidential candidate primary, Choi Yong-hwi said, 'I personally conducted opinion polls, and since the results were not good, I did not even deliver them to our side,' so there should be no more disputes." He continued, "That person is just a junior from my hometown, not a wealthy supporter who helps me. The group that committed not only manipulated opinion polls but also loan fraud is despicable. They must be thoroughly investigated and severely punished."

Earlier, Kang Hye-kyung appeared on MBC Radio’s 'Kim Jong-bae’s Focus' on the same day, claiming, "It is a clear fact that Myung Tae-gyun and Mayor Hong had a close relationship," and "I heard that Myung gave a lot of help to Mayor Hong through opinion polls and other means, and that he expressed gratitude."