"To Avoid Being Caught Off Guard Like During Park Geun-hye's Impeachment"
A Series of Official Announcements to Run
As President Yoon Suk-yeol faces arrest and the Constitutional Court's impeachment trial accelerates, increasing the possibility of an early presidential election, Hong Joon-pyo, the mayor of Daegu, has expressed his intention to run.
When supporters posted on Hong Mayor's political platform 'Youth's Dream' that his approval ratings among people in their 20s were high in SBS and YTN polls, he responded, "It doesn't mean much right now; we should only look at the trend."
In the SBS poll mentioned by Hong's supporters, Hong trailed Lee Jae-myung 24% to 43% in a hypothetical one-on-one race, but among 18-29 year-olds, Hong led with 40% to 27%, making him the only ruling party candidate ahead in that age group. In the YTN poll, Hong tied with Lee at 41% each overall, and led 44% to 32% among 18-29 year-olds.
Another supporter posted under the title "The political situation is heading toward an early presidential election," saying, "In this election, I hope you realize your dream and restore South Korea, which is becoming communist. Now, raise your voice to protect Free Korea, aim to unite the conservative base, and at the same time, raise the value of future vision and common sense to attract the moderate voters." Hong replied, "Unfortunately, it seems likely that there will be an early election. We will prepare thoroughly so as not to be caught off guard like during Park Geun-hye's impeachment."
On the 22nd, he officially declared his presidential bid, saying, "As a qualified candidate for the next presidential election, I visited Washington for the first time in eight years at the invitation of the U.S. presidential inauguration preparation committee."
On the 25th, on TV Chosun's 'Gangjeokdeul,' regarding his intention to run in an early election, he said, "As the incumbent mayor, it is very burdensome to announce my position too early. It is better to announce it after the impeachment trial conclusion." However, when other panelists said, "It seems 100% that he intends to run. It seems he has already made up his mind," he smiled and did not offer any rebuttal.
On the 27th, he posted on Facebook, "If an early presidential election takes place, power replacement will resonate more deeply than regime change," showing confidence in the next presidential election.
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