Hong Joonpyo Targets Yoon Suk Yeol and Han Donghoon: "Without Rooting Out Mercenaries, the Party Has No Future"

"To revive conservatism, Yoon and Han must be thoroughly held to account"
"Remember: Dangdanbudan (if you fail to cut off what must be cut off), Bansugiran (you will in turn suffer chaos)"

Han Donghoon, former leader of the People Power Party, and Hong Joonpyo, former mayor of Daegu. National Assembly Press Photographers

Former Daegu Mayor Hong Joonpyo has continued his criticism of former President Yoon Suk Yeol and Han Donghoon, former leader of the People Power Party. On the 12th, he argued that "to prevent the collapse of the conservative bloc and to rise again, former President Yoon Suk Yeol and former leader Han Donghoon must be cleared out and a new start must be made," and on the 14th he added that "without rooting out the mercenary forces, the party has no future."

On the 14th, through his social networking service (SNS) account, Hong wrote, "Lee Jaemyung, leader of the Democratic Party, mercilessly purged the anti-Lee faction in the candidate selection process ahead of the last general election, but thanks to the blunders of Yoon Suk Yeol and Han Donghoon, he won a landslide victory in the general election."

He also stated that without eliminating the mercenary forces, there is no future for the party. Hong refers to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who joined the People Power Party during the 20th presidential election, and Han Donghoon, who joined the People Power Party in 2024 as emergency committee chair, as mercenary forces.

He said, "Defeat in the local elections held one year after a change of government is, in any case, a foregone conclusion, but if you show leniency toward those who, being fixated on the local elections, ruined the party and the country, those same disruptive forces will run rampant again," adding, "In early March, change the party name, change the party platform to orthodox conservatism to completely erase the imprint of Kim Chongin, and clear out the remnants of the mercenary forces so you can make a fresh start."

He concluded, "With the remnants of the insurrection, there is no hope not only in the upcoming local elections but also in future general elections. Remember the old saying, 'Dangdanbudan (當斷不斷, if you fail to cut off what must be cut off) bansugiran (反受其亂, you will in turn suffer chaos).'"

"To revive conservatism, Yoon Suk Yeol and Han Donghoon must be cleared out"

On the 12th, Hong had also delivered sharp criticism of former President Yoon Suk Yeol and former leader Han Donghoon.

Through his SNS account, Hong said, "The two instances of impeachment and imprisonment of conservative presidents stemmed from conflict and strife within their own camp."

He also compared the key aides during the terms of former President Park Geunhye and former President Yoon Suk Yeol. Hong said, "Under former President Park Geunhye, there was conflict and strife between Park Geunhye and Kim Moo-sung and Yoo Seongmin, and under former President Yoon Suk Yeol, there was conflict and strife between Yoon Suk Yeol and Han Donghoon," pointing out that "for the conservative bloc to rise again, it will be difficult to make a comeback unless those responsible for this factional politics within the camp are held thoroughly accountable and their responsibility is cleared away."

He went on, "The Democratic Party, having observed such cases, is likely to resolve the conflict and strife between Lee Jaemyung and Jung Chungrae through political means, but in the conservative bloc, renewal must come through a politics of reckoning that thoroughly assigns responsibility for its collapse; if it is handled with half-measures based on the idea that keeping the peace is all that matters, there is a risk it will recur," adding, "Even in this situation, it is truly regrettable that a faction that is not even a handful is throwing the party into confusion and even provoking arguments that the opposition is useless. Cleanly settle accounts and make a new start."