Hong Jun-pyo to Run for Daegu Suseong After Leaving Party... "Will Return After Victory"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Lee Ji-eun and Kim Hye-min] Former Liberty Korea Party leader Hong Joon-pyo officially announced his candidacy for Daegu Suseong after leaving the party.

On the 17th, Hong released a declaration of candidacy, stating, "Due to the impure conspiracy of some forces involving unfair nomination deals and eliminating presidential rivals, I intend to temporarily leave the party and go out into the wilderness."

He said, "I requested Representative Hwang Kyo-ahn to correct the unfairness and injustice caused by the nomination management committee's rigged nominations, but Hwang refused," adding, "Now, I will follow Hong Joon-pyo's path. From now on, it is only Hong Joon-pyo's time," officially declaring his candidacy.

He continued, "With a desperate heart that only trusts my hometown Daegu, I have come up the Nakdong River relying solely on the citizens of Daegu," adding, "I will stand proudly before you not as an independent but as a 'citizen-nominated candidate' recommended by the citizens." Hong listed seven previous attempts over the past 25 years to run in the Daegu region that ended in failure, saying, "Now, after seven failures and an eighth attempt, I intend to shed the party's shell and shackles and start 'hometown politics' in my dream hometown Daegu."

Hong currently criticizes the United Future Party as a "hodgepodge" and stated he will restore the orthodox conservative "TK (Daegu-Gyeongbuk) conservatives." He emphasized, "After winning the Daegu general election, I will immediately rejoin the party. It has only been about 40 days since I left," adding, "The current United Future Party is merely a hastily assembled 'hodgepodge party' for election purposes, and the 'TK conservatives' are the orthodox conservatives who have protected the Republic of Korea and are the mainstream of Korean conservatism."

He said, "Since the Park Geun-hye administration, I boldly say that I, Hong Joon-pyo, am the only one who can bring the regime back to Daegu," adding, "I will strive further to regain the conservative right-wing government and restore the glory and prosperity of the Pungpae that has continued for over 40 years."

Regarding the COVID-19 situation, he also demanded a 20 trillion won "New Deal budget" for Daegu. Hong stated, "I demand a 'TK COVID New Deal 20 trillion won' as an urgent preemptive measure to revive the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region from the Moon Jae-in administration," explaining, "10 trillion won through supplementary budgets and other fiscal support, 6 trillion won through value-added tax exemptions and other tax reductions, and separately, 4 trillion won contributed to the disaster management fund of Daegu City and Gyeongbuk Province through the issuance of 'COVID bonds'."

He emphasized, "The 'disaster basic income system' being promoted by some in the ruling party is populist handouts and merely a temporary fix," adding, "The correct path is to use the TK COVID New Deal for emergency relief, damage support, and revitalizing the regional economy, and repay it later when recovery occurs."

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