Na Dong-yeon "Did not ask Hong Jun-pyo to run in Yangsan... Only offered words of encouragement"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Former Liberty Korea Party leader Hong Joon-pyo claimed that former Yangsan Mayor Na Dong-yeon asked him to run in Yangsan, prompting him to change his electoral district. However, former Mayor Na denied this, saying it was just a polite remark.

On the 10th, former Mayor Na appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and stated, "During the call, as a form of polite remark, I said, 'Thank you for your hard work,' and asked, 'Have you considered Yangsan? Since my district is Yangsan,' just a casual greeting."

He explained, "(The request to run in Yangsan) is something former leader Hong Joon-pyo said unilaterally and added, "And such an elder is not the type to tell me to come or go."

Regarding the claim that members of the nomination committee came down from Seoul to urge him to run, he said, "The people who came from Seoul were not like that; it was reporters who came down and asked during interviews," and "There was talk that since former leader Hong Joon-pyo was facing continuous rumors of being cut off (disqualified from nomination), he should be included as an alternative, but I refused because from the beginning I said I would run for the mayoral by-election."

He revealed that the additional nomination application was due to the party conducting opinion polls including himself since early this month. Former Mayor Na said, "Even though I did not apply for nomination, they included me and kept conducting opinion polls," and "(One day before the deadline) I received a call from the nomination committee support team asking me to apply again as they were reopening the recruitment." He emphasized that it was not a direct call from Kim Hyung-oh, the nomination committee chairman, nor had he received a call from Hwang Kyo-ahn, the United Party leader.

Former Mayor Na explained that the only time he spoke with Chairman Kim was once on the 2nd, the day he went to apply for nomination. He said, "On the day I went to apply, a staff member of former leader Hong came to our office and said, 'This is not right,' so I called the support team, and then Chairman Kim called me asking, 'Why are you doing this?'"

Although he only spoke once with Chairman Kim, the contact from the nomination committee support team could be seen as reflecting the chairman's intentions. Regarding this, former Mayor Na said, "I don't know if it was the chairman's will or the nomination committee's will, but I don't know the source," and added, "Since the person who moves the nomination committee is the chairman, wouldn't he say so? That's about it."

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