Hong Junpyo: "People Power Party Is a Pseudo-Conservative Group With No Ideology... Recovery Is Nearly Impossible"

"Do Not Blame Lee Junseok, the Last Remaining Spark for Conservative Revival"
"People Power Party Is Nothing More Than an Interest Group Pursuing Private Gain"

Former Daegu Mayor Hong Junpyo criticized the People Power Party, which lost the presidential election, saying, "It is now so deeply diseased that it is almost impossible to revive."

On June 5, Hong wrote on his Facebook account, targeting the People Power Party, "It is a pseudo-lemming group that has no ideology and falsely claims to represent conservatism," adding, "It is nothing more than an interest group that pursues only private gain."

Former Daegu Mayor Hong Junpyo.

Hong stated that he led the party after it fell into chaos following the impeachment of former President Park Geunhye. He recalled that, at the time of Park's impeachment, the party's approval rating plummeted to 4%, and even the conservative media called for the party's dissolution. He said that then emergency committee chair In Myungjin came down to Changwon and urged him to at least save the party, and that he resigned as governor of South Gyeongsang Province and ran for president, but in the impeachment election, where defeat was all but certain, no one helped him.

He pointed out that, after reviving the party in this way, he was not even given a nomination in the 21st National Assembly election and had to run as an independent in Daegu, which was even more difficult than running as an independent in Seoul, but he was elected. However, the party did not allow him to rejoin for more than a year.

Hong emphasized that, although he was eventually allowed to rejoin, he was subjected to a "fraudulent primary" in the last presidential election. He said, "In August 2021, I started the presidential primary with a 4% approval rating, and two and a half months later, my public support exceeded Yoon Sukyeol's by 10.27%." Nevertheless, he lost in the party member vote, which mobilized vested interests and groups such as Shincheonji, and had to give up his candidacy in what he called a fraudulent primary, after which he returned to Daegu as mayor. He added that he considered leaving the party at that time but postponed it for one last challenge, saying, "I prepared for the next presidential election, but once again, the party was in chaos."

Hong said, "I dreamed of and prepared for a 'Hong Junpyo nation,' but once again, another fraudulent primary was orchestrated by you, a former political prosecutor, and your associates." He confessed that even the lawmakers and party chapter heads he trusted became accomplices in the fraudulent primary, leaving him to run alone. He said, "From that moment, I thought it was time to leave the party," adding, "I saw that there was nothing more for me to do in a party where sincerity does not get through."

He continued, "Do not blame me, and do not blame Lee Junseok, who is the last remaining spark for the revival of conservatism," emphasizing, "It is all your own doing."

After being eliminated in the People Power Party's presidential primary, Hong left the party and is currently staying in Hawaii. He did not vote in this presidential election. He has been posting critical messages about the People Power Party on Facebook every day. On June 4, he wrote, "I left the party I served for 30 years because I saw that, no matter how hard I tried, the presidential election was hopeless, and the party had become a diseased forest," adding, "The failure of the last desperate attempt through Kim Moonsu was not the fault of Lee Junseok or myself." He continued, "You were abandoned by the public because you turned into an interest group full of selfish desires," and questioned, "Was it not you who drove out Lee Junseok by framing him with all kinds of scandals? Was it not you who pushed me out with two fraudulent primaries?"