'Cutoff' Hong Jun-pyo: "They said if I persuade Na Dong-yeon, they would hold a primary..."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] Former Liberty Korea Party leader Hong Joon-pyo revealed that he had a phone call with Kim Hyung-o, the Future United Party's nomination committee chairman, three days ago and expressed strong dissatisfaction over being cut off (excluded from nomination) in this general election.

On the 5th, Hong posted on his Facebook, "Three days ago, Nomination Committee Chairman Kim Hyung-o personally called me and said that if I persuaded former Yangsan Mayor Na Dong-yeon to participate in the additional nomination, I would not be cut off and would be allowed to have a primary election."

The Future United Party had earlier designated Gyeongnam Yangsan-eul, where Hong declared his candidacy, as a primary election district. Former Yangsan Mayor Na Dong-yeon, former Gyeongsangnam-do Council member Park In, and former Gyeongsangnam-do Council member Lee Jang-kwon were on the primary candidate list, but Hong's name was excluded.

Rumors about Hong's exclusion from nomination had circulated previously. On the 2nd, the United Party's nomination committee announced it would accept additional candidate applications for Yangsan-eul, and after it became known that former Mayor Na had undergone a nomination interview, talk arose that this was a step toward cutting off Hong.

Hong also posted on Facebook the day before, saying, "When I applied for nomination this time, I took the lowest posture and said I would even participate in the national primary with ordinary party members," and added, "At the nomination committee's request, I gave up running in my hometown and came to Yangsan-eul, a tough district in Gyeongnam."

He said, "At the nomination committee's request, I even agreed to a forced primary election while accommodating former Yangsan Mayor Na Dong-yeon, who hesitated to run," and added, "I wish they would frankly tell me why the party I have devoted myself to for the past 25 years is treating me so harshly."

Hong also hinted at the possibility of running as an independent, saying, "I hope they stop testing me any further, as I have never once left the party."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.