Former Hong Junpyo Campaign Member Eonju Lee
"Suffering accumulated, leading to political retirement"
Hong: "Supporting Kim Moonsoo after Yoon left the party"
Eonju Lee, Co-Chair of the Democratic Party Joint Election Committee, criticized the so-called "special envoy team" dispatched to persuade former Daegu Mayor Hong Junpyo, who declared his retirement from politics and voiced criticism against the party after losing in the People Power Party's presidential primary, calling it a "showy performance." In an interview on YTN Radio's "Shin Yul's News Frontline" on the 19th, Lee said, "Do you really think he will come back just because they went to the United States?"
Lee commented, "Although former Mayor Hong is from a different political camp, he is not someone I dislike. He has wit, humor, and a sense of national unity, and even though he is conservative, he possesses a certain sense of justice." She added, "In the last presidential election, former Mayor Hong received overwhelming support from public opinion. However, in the end, the so-called 'Yoon core officials' (referring to key associates of Yoon Sukyeol) and other entrenched politicians in the People Power Party, who did not really understand politics, brought in Yoon Sukyeol?someone easy for them to control?and suddenly rallied around him as the presidential candidate."
She continued, "Many people questioned why they would bring in and support someone who wielded the prosecutor's sword, led the destruction of the conservative bloc, had no experience in state affairs, and could, through the judicialization of politics, destroy politics and rule by fear. This is not right," she pointed out. "I think they thought he would be easy to control because he knew nothing about politics and had no experience," she said.
Lee went on to say, "So what was the result? Wasn't it that they didn't care about the country or politics at all and only thought about their own interests? Former Mayor Hong, after seeing this pattern repeated and even witnessing it again in this presidential election, decided to leave for the United States, quit the party, and declare his retirement from politics. Do you really think he will come back just because they put on a show by visiting him in the U.S.?"
When asked by the host whether she thought former Mayor Hong would return to politics, Lee replied, "At the very least, I don't think he will return to politics with the People Power Party." Previously, members of groups supporting former Mayor Hong, such as "Hongsamo," "Hongsarang," and "Gukmintonghap Jjinhong," had publicly declared their support for Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jaemyung. Lee stated, "Aren't I the original democratic conservative? Since I previously served as a co-chair of former Mayor Hong's campaign committee, I played a role in encouraging his supporters and campaign staff to support candidate Lee."
Yoo Sangbeom, Head of the Unification Promotion Headquarters of the People Power Party's Presidential Campaign Committee, Kim Daesik, Head of External Cooperation Headquarters, Cho Gwanghan, Deputy Head of External Cooperation Headquarters, and Lee Seongbae, Spokesperson of the Campaign Committee, arrived in Hawaii, USA on the 19th to persuade former Daegu Mayor Hong Junpyo to join the campaign committee and are meeting with former Mayor Hong. Yonhap News
Meanwhile, according to Kim Daesik, a People Power Party lawmaker and one of the special envoys who visited to persuade former Mayor Hong to join Kim Moonsoo's campaign on this day, former Mayor Hong stated that he supports candidate Kim because "former President Yoon left the party." It was also reported that Hong expressed agreement on the need for "grand conservative unity." The special envoy team plans to meet former Mayor Hong for a second time on the 20th to further persuade him to join candidate Kim's campaign committee.
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