Hong: "Han, You Constantly Picked Fights with Yoon"
"If I Had Been Party Leader, Martial Law Would Not Have Occurred"
Han: "I Did Not Threaten Yongsan with the Kim Keonhee Special Prosecutor Bill"
"I Was Not Questioning Kim Moonsu's Character or Convictions"
As Hoon Han, former leader of the People Power Party and a presidential primary candidate, and Junpyo Hong, former mayor of Daegu, began their one-on-one debate on April 25, they engaged in a tense exchange over the 12·3 Martial Law Incident and conflicts between Yoon and Han.
During the one-on-one debate held at 4 p.m. that day, Hong was asked by Han, "If you had been the party leader on December 3 last year, would you have prevented martial law, or would you have dismissed it as a mere incident?" Hong responded, "If I had been in that position, martial law would not have occurred, and impeachment would not have happened either. The party leader must cooperate with the president. Could anyone have tolerated a party leader who constantly nitpicks and picks fights with the president?" he remarked.
He continued, "The biggest cause of martial law was the tyranny of the opposition, but of course, the president was primarily at fault. After that, there was the tyranny of the opposition, and the party leader kept picking fights and nitpicking with the president, so how could the president have tolerated it?" He emphasized, "If I had been party leader, such things would not have happened. No matter how upsetting things were, I would have cooperated with the president to stabilize the political situation. I would have tried to lead state affairs through dialogue and compromise with the opposition."
When Han asked, "What was the reason you unilaterally decided to expel former President Park Geun-hye during your tenure as party leader?" Hong argued, "At that time, the Moon Jaein administration was trying to push for a socialist constitutional amendment. We didn't have enough lawmakers to stop it. When we brought back those who had left for the Bareun Party, their first demand was the expulsion of former President Park Geun-hye."
He added, "I had no choice but to promise to expel her after the first trial verdict in order to bring those people back and block the socialist amendment. That's how we stopped the socialist amendment. Didn't Han, as a prosecutor, seek a 35-year sentence in the first trial? So I had no choice but to keep my promise to expel her," he countered.
Hoon Han (left) and Junpyo Hong, presidential primary candidates of the People Power Party, pose after selecting each other as opponents for the 1:1 debate at the media day for the 2nd primary debate to select the 21st presidential candidate, held at the central party office in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul on April 23, 2025. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group
Hong then pressed Han, asking, "During your time as party leader, did you threaten Yongsan by saying you would pass the Kim Keonhee special prosecutor bill?" In response, Han said, "That is not true. Since your question is based on something untrue, I have little to say. However, it is true that I tried to find a solution to the Kim Keonhee issue that met public expectations, and I faced many attacks during that process," he began.
He went on, "Hong kept saying that I was in the wrong while siding with the president. That is what is wrong. You mentioned martial law, but those who flattered the president and tried to please him, like Hong, bear responsibility for martial law," he criticized.
He continued, "I want to make it clear that I was someone who tried to prevent martial law. In a conservative party of democrats and republicans, we must take responsibility. Responsibility means being accountable to the community and the people. I never threatened Yongsan with the Kim Keonhee special prosecutor bill," he emphasized.
When Hong asked Han if he intended to apologize for his remark during the previous day's one-on-one debate with former Minister of Employment and Labor Moonsu Kim, where Han referred to Kim as "someone with six criminal convictions," Han responded, "We attack Lee Jaemyung, former leader of the Democratic Party, for having four convictions. In a fierce, warlike election, we will keep attacking. That's why we must be clean. I explained it because there was a Supreme Court conviction for Kim the previous day. I was not criticizing the democratization movement he participated in during harsh times. I was not criticizing Kim's character. We need to be clean in order to win," he countered.
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