Hong Joon-pyo, "Yoon Seok-youl Must Show a Passion for Righteousness Strong Enough to Even Refuse to Forgive His Wife"

[경향신문]

People Power Party lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo gives his greetings at a ceremony disbanding the JP Hope Camp, held at the BNB Tower in Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul on the morning of January 8. National Assembly press photographers

People Power Party lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo spoke on the party’s presidential candidate Yoon Seok-youl and said, “He became popular in the beginning because of fairness, justice and conviction, and support for him is dropping because people feel that all those have collapsed after the allegations against his wife, corruption in his wife’s family, and allegations of instigating a criminal report.” He further argued, “Yoon needs to show a strong passion for what is right claiming he would take stern legal action against the corruption in his wife’s family when he becomes president, that he would not forgive even his wife, to create an opportunity for his support to bounce back up.” As for the possibility of holding hands with Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, and coming together under a single candidate, Hong showed his support for Yoon and said, “Naturally, we should support the candidate of our party (Yoon).”

On January 6, Hong Joon-pyo appeared on his YouTube channel, TV Hongca Cola and said, “It (cause of dropping support) is something that even a child knows. It’s because of the capability of the candidate himself and because of the affairs of his wife’s family.” He also said, “Yoon needs to show a confident and proud attitude claiming to sternly take legal action against the corruption in his wife’s family, as well as the corruption in Daejang-dong, to stay in line with the fairness, common sense and justice that he once advocated.”

As for the recent conflict with the party’s leader Lee Jun-seok, Hong criticized both Yoon and Lee. He said, “Lee Jun-seok should also be cautious and Yoon should not attack Lee Jun-seok anymore.” He stressed, “Originally, it was I who made the policy that put priority on party affairs. This policy was created for the presidential election, it wasn’t a policy to attack the party leader.”

Hong also spoke on the recent climb in public support for Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party. He said, “He (Yoon Seok-youl) failed to properly present his vision,” but at the same time expressed his willingness to support Yoon if they were to choose a single candidate. Hong said, “A candidate should give people trust and the belief that the world will change a certain way if he becomes president, but we did a poor job,” and added, “(If discussions on backing a single candidate begin) Naturally, we should support the candidate of our party.”

As for Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, Hong said, “He is being very clever. Lee is a man who could sell his soul, if he could get a chance to become president. He can say anything and present any policy to become president.”

However, Hong deferred an answer on plans to make another bid for the presidency in the next election. He said, “If I were to make another attempt in the next presidential election, which position should I be in now to improve my chances? Would it be better for me to stay in Yeouido or would it be right to step down since I was defeated in the central political stage? I will decide these things after March 9.”