Hong Jun-pyo on Roh Moo-hyun Supporter's Post: "A Modest President"

Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo responded to a post expressing longing for the late former President Roh Moo-hyun by calling him a "humble president."

On the 13th, Mayor Hong replied this way to a post titled "We miss you, memories of the late former President Roh Moo-hyun" on his online communication platform 'Dream of Youth.' The post's author, Mr. A, also attached a video that Mayor Hong uploaded in 2019 to mark the 10th anniversary of former President Roh's passing. The approximately 8-minute-long video features Mayor Hong recalling former President Roh.

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

In the video, Mayor Hong said, "President Roh was a non-mainstream, commoner president since the founding of the Republic of Korea, and unlike other presidents, he was relatively honest." He added, "Although I disagreed with his ideas, I have never thought badly of him."

Mayor Hong also shared an anecdote from when he first entered politics. He recalled that in 1996, a drunken former President Roh tried to dissuade him from joining the New Korea Party, saying, "You have built your honor as a prosecutor, and if you become a lawyer, you will earn a decent amount of money. Why would you want to go to the ruling party? Come to the Democratic Party," persuading him.

He then emphasized again, "Because President Roh's death was not a righteous death, I never once visited Bongha Village during the mourning period when I was governor of Gyeongnam. It may not have been a righteous death, but I think he was a relatively honest and straightforward president."

Meanwhile, it is known that Mayor Hong is currently discussing plans to attend the inauguration ceremony of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in Washington D.C. on the 20th (local time). Previously, former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon was invited to the inauguration event, but he reportedly decided not to attend considering the domestic political situation.