Daegu People's Solidarity issued a statement on the 3rd, urging, "Daegu City Hall officials should maintain political neutrality and focus on the livelihood economy," and warned, "If public officials violate political neutrality again, they will be held accountable."
According to Daegu People's Solidarity, on January 29, Deputy Mayor of Economy Jeong Jang-su changed his SNS cover image to one indistinguishable from Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo's presidential election promotional material, and after controversy arose, he replaced it. The image used by Deputy Mayor Jeong included Mayor Hong’s face along with the phrase "Prepared President, Verified President." This reused the image of candidate Hong Jun-pyo from the 19th presidential election and can be interpreted as effectively starting election campaigning in anticipation of an early presidential election following President Yoon Seok-yeol’s impeachment citation.
Daegu People's Solidarity stated, "Although the cover image was replaced, the image still remains undeleted on Deputy Mayor Jeong’s SNS, and many posts promoting and supporting Mayor Hong’s activities have been posted since the past," adding, "This is not only a violation of public officials’ political neutrality obligations but also unacceptable given that the person responsible is indifferent to Daegu’s municipal administration and citizens’ lives during such difficult times for the livelihood economy, focusing instead on Mayor Hong Jun-pyo’s presidential campaign."
Daegu People's Solidarity continued, "Since Mayor Hong’s inauguration, his close aides have continued to promote him. A public official who flooded the official Daegu City YouTube channel with promotional videos of Mayor Hong was sent for prosecution on charges of violating election laws. Deputy Mayor Jeong Jang-su and former Political Affairs Officer Lee Si-bok were also sent for prosecution on similar charges for supporting Mayor Hong and promoting his achievements on their personal SNS accounts. Such deviant acts by Mayor Hong Jun-pyo’s close public officials continue."
Daegu People's Solidarity said, "This is not a temporary or personal issue but a structural problem stemming from Mayor Hong Jun-pyo placing close aides in key positions from the start with the presidential election in mind, treating municipal administration merely as a stepping stone for the election. Daegu’s municipal administration must no longer become a chaotic scene where Hong Jun-pyo and his henchmen run rampant," and urged, "Deputy Mayor Jeong Jang-su should apologize immediately and focus on recovering the livelihood economy. If Mayor Hong wants to continue his presidential campaign, he should resign from the deputy mayor position immediately."
Daegu People's Solidarity also warned, "Daegu City officials must keep in mind their obligation to political neutrality and devote themselves to municipal administration. If similar incidents recur, they will be held accountable," and demanded, "Since Mayor Hong Jun-pyo has declared his presidential candidacy, he should now step away from municipal administration. Stop turning the administration into a political mess and resign from the mayoral office immediately."
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