War of Words Among Ruling Party Figures Over Han Donghoon's Explanation
Hong Joonpyo to Han Donghoon: "Were You Living a Separate Life?"
The controversy surrounding the People Power Party's member bulletin board is escalating into a public war of words among party figures. Assemblywoman Bae Hyunjin of the People Power Party has launched a strong public criticism against former Daegu Mayor Hong Joonpyo, who recently criticized former party leader Han Donghoon.
During the April 2024 general election, Han Dong-hoon, then the Chief Election Strategy Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, was appealing for support for candidate Bae Hyun-jin.
On December 31, Assemblywoman Bae directly targeted former Mayor Hong's recent remarks through her Facebook page, stating, "I really wish you would just remain quiet and dignified from now on." She also referenced past political controversies, saying, "Investigation pressure, leaving the party, going to Hawaii, announcing retirement from politics. These words still linger in the minds of party members as painful memories, and now, by showing the Democratic Party's trademark hypocrisy, there is no reason to dig even deeper into the bottom."
Assemblywoman Bae did not hide her disappointment toward former Mayor Hong. She said, "It is truly regrettable," and added, "I put in so much effort and support, but perhaps I expected too much change and ended up seeing too much of the bare reality that I didn't need to see."
Assemblywoman Bae also directed criticism regarding the controversy over the Party Affairs Audit Committee's investigation results. She claimed, "It seems the Audit Committee Chair is forging audit details and trying to evade responsibility, but it looks like he will face the stern judgment of the law."
This controversy began in November last year, when numerous posts criticizing former President Yoon and his wife were uploaded to the People Power Party's member bulletin board. The Party Affairs Audit Committee recently reported that the accounts responsible for these posts matched the names of five members of former leader Han's family, and that many of the posts were concentrated from a limited range of IP addresses. The committee has forwarded the investigation results to the party's Central Ethics Committee.
Former leader Han stated that he only learned later that his family had posted criticisms of former President Yoon and his wife on the party's anonymous bulletin board, after the Party Affairs Audit Committee identified him and his family as the authors of the posts targeting Yoon and his wife.
However, regarding the evidence released by the Audit Committee Chair, Han claimed that "some of the more provocative posts under the name 'Han Donghoon' by a person with the same name were manipulated to appear as if they were written by my family." He emphasized, "I will respond firmly with both civil and criminal legal action against this deliberate smear campaign through the dissemination of false information."
In response, former Mayor Hong criticized, "Does it make sense to say you only found out later that your family posted critical messages? Claiming that the entire family was mobilized for childish insults and slander, but that you didn't know about it, is simply unbelievable." He further escalated his criticism, saying, "Did you not go home every day back then, or were you living a separate life?"
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