Upon Seeing People Power Party's Crushing Exit Poll Defeat... Hong Junpyo Says "A Diseased Forest Must Be Burned"

"A party impeached twice, we could have won"
"Three years of chaos, and now this again"
"Transplant only healthy trees and start anew"

Former Daegu Mayor Hong Junpyo commented on June 3, after exit polls from the three major terrestrial broadcasters showed the People Power Party trailing significantly, saying, "A diseased forest must have only healthy trees transplanted and then be burned."

On the same day, through his social networking service (SNS) account, Hong assessed, "Although this party was impeached twice, it was a contest we could have easily won because the opponent was candidate Lee Jaemyung. It is regrettable that it turned out this way."

On April 29, at the People Power Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, after candidate Hong Junpyo was eliminated in the announcement event for the third round of the 21st presidential candidate primary of the People Power Party, he is seen leaving the headquarters.

Hong resigned from his post as mayor to run in the People Power Party's presidential primary, but failed to make it into the final two candidates and was eliminated from the race. Afterwards, he abruptly left the People Power Party, declared his retirement from politics, and stayed in the United States.

Regarding this presidential election, he wrote on SNS, "During the impeachment of Park Geunhye, the party should have been allowed to disband so that we could rebuild from scratch. But after barely reviving it, all sorts of riffraff have caused chaos for three years, and now we've ended up like this again," expressing his frustration.

He continued, "A diseased forest must have only healthy trees transplanted and then be burned," adding, "If it is left unattended, the entire mountain will become diseased." This is seen as an indication that he believes the People Power Party requires reforms at the level of a complete dissolution.