Hong Joonpyo Promises Unification: "Even If I Am Not the Presidential Candidate, As Long As I Can Defeat Lee"

"If Elected as Party's Presidential Candidate, Will Hold a 'One-Shot' National Primary with Han Ducksoo"
"If I Become the Final Candidate, I Will Meet Acting President Han Ducksoo"

Hong Joonpyo, a presidential primary candidate for the People Power Party, has announced that he will soon meet with Han Ducksoo, the acting president and prime minister. This is interpreted as his intention to quickly begin discussions on unification for an 'anti-Lee Jaemyung big tent.'

On the 26th, immediately after the second round of the People Power Party presidential primary debate, Hong stated via social media, "If I make it to the final round, I will immediately launch a grand coalition front," adding, "I will also meet with Prime Minister Han Ducksoo soon." He emphasized, "A candidate with competitiveness against Lee Jaemyung must become our party's presidential nominee."

He appealed for support, saying, "In every respect, I am the only one who can defeat Lee Jaemyung," and "This time, I hope you will trust Hong Joonpyo and participate in the voting and opinion polls."

On the 27th, Hong continued to post related messages. He said, "If I become the final candidate, I will hold two unification debates with Acting President Han Ducksoo and then conduct a one-shot national primary," adding, "Even if I do not become our party's presidential candidate, if I can defeat Lee Jaemyung, I will gladly choose that path."

During the debate on the 26th, when asked in a true-or-false format whether he was honestly displeased with the idea of drafting Acting President Han, Hong held up the 'false' sign. He explained, "At first, I saw it as unreasonable. I went through the preliminaries and semifinals to become a candidate, and now I'm being told to compete in a primary with someone coming in from outside. Where else in the world is there such an extra match?" However, he added, "But as party members and the public demand it, and since defeating Lee Jaemyung seems possible only this way, I came to think there is no other option."

The People Power Party will conduct its second round of primary voting over two days, from April 27 to 28. On the 27th, voting will be conducted via mobile from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and for those who do not participate in mobile voting, ARS voting will be available from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. on the 28th. The results of the primary are scheduled to be announced on the 29th. If no candidate among the four receives a majority of votes, a final round between the top two candidates will be held, and the final nominee will be confirmed on May 3.