Hong Jun-pyo: "Han Dong-hoon and the Lemmings, Support Impeachment and Leave the Party"

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Representative Han Dong-hoon Compared to Mercenaries
"If the Party Unites, It Can Rise Again" Emphasized

Hong Joon-pyo, the mayor of Daegu who has continuously criticized Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the People Power Party, this time compared Han Dong-hoon to lemmings and suggested that he should leave the party in favor of impeachment. Lemmings are rodents that move in groups in search of food, often resulting in many dying at once.

On the 11th, Mayor Hong wrote on his Facebook, "The behavior of the Samsung family slaves (三星?家奴) is utterly disgusting. Han Dong-hoon and the lemmings should leave the party together," adding, "If they are impeached anyway, Han Dong-hoon will be expelled, and the lemmings will have nowhere to go. Didn’t this situation arise because two mercenaries were at odds?" He continued, "The people are not impeaching the Korean conservative forces but the two mercenaries who infiltrated this party."

Hong Joon-pyo, Mayor of Daegu. Photo by Yonhap News

Mayor Hong used the fact that President Yoon Seok-yeol and Representative Han became president and ruling party leader respectively right after entering politics to liken them to 'mercenaries.' He then said, "At this point, let's expel the mercenaries and unite those who have protected this party to rebuild it," adding, "Wasn't it like that when we stood up again after Park Geun-hye's impeachment?" He emphasized, "If we unite just 90 seats, we can regain power like DJ (former President Kim Dae-jung)."

Earlier the day before, Mayor Hong also fiercely criticized President Yoon on Facebook, saying, "You could have done well, but having someone like Han Dong-hoon by your side is the biggest cause of failure." He added, "You could have done well, there were many opportunities, but are you going to go down like Caesar betrayed by Brutus?" The Roman emperor Julius Caesar, whom Mayor Hong mentioned, was stabbed to death by supporters of the republic during a Senate meeting on March 15, 44 BC.

Among the assassins was Marcus Brutus, a close aide of Caesar. Mayor Hong likened President Yoon to Caesar to imply that he was 'betrayed.' Furthermore, he pointed to Yoon Seok-yeol’s poor governance as largely due to his choice of associates. Finally, he said, "It was a mistake to have people like Han Dong-hoon and Kim Yong-hyun by your side," adding, "Just as President Park Chung-hee was assassinated because of having Cha Ji-chul by his side, great power is like a sandcastle that collapses in an instant."