[Full Text] Hong Jun-pyo Officially Declares Candidacy: "Make Daegu a Prosperous and Flourishing City Again"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Former Liberty Korea Party leader Hong Joon-pyo officially declared his candidacy in Daegu Suseong on the 17th, stating, "I will make Daegu a prosperous hometown again."

He defined the nomination by the United Future Party as "unfairness and injustice of corrupt nominations" and emphasized that he would leave the party, win the general election, and then return. He also announced that he would demand a 20 trillion won New Deal budget for the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region to overcome the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

Below is the full text of former leader Hong's candidacy declaration.

"I will devote myself to the dignity, honor, and prosperity of Daegu"

Respected citizens,

And citizens of Daegu,

Dear voters of Suseong,

I intend to run in the Daegu Suseong-gu E constituency, leaving the party I have been part of for the past 25 years.

Having never left a party before,

due to the malicious conspiracy of corrupt nominations and elimination of presidential rivals by some forces,

I am temporarily leaving the party to go into the wilderness.

I requested party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn to correct the unfairness and injustice of the corrupt nominations committed by the nomination management committee,

but Leader Hwang refused.

Now, I will follow my own path.

From now on, it is only Hong Joon-pyo’s time.

I had a humble dream of doing my final politics in my hometown.

That wish ended as just a hope, and now, as I face this final general election,

I intend to start anew in my hometown Daegu, which nurtured me.

I stand alone in the wilderness as a victim of corrupt and deceitful nominations.

With the desperate feeling that only my hometown Daegu can save me,

I have trusted only the citizens of Daegu and come upriver along the Nakdong River.

I am not an independent candidate,

but will stand proudly before you as a ‘citizen-nominated candidate’ recommended by the citizens.

Hometowns are always like a warm mother’s embrace.

A place where tired and weary children return

to recover and renew themselves.

For this election,

I packed my belongings three times,

and deeply reflected on myself.

As the saying goes, learn lessons from hardships,

I have decided to turn this into a precious opportunity for a greater leap forward.

Like a mother raising her child,

I ask my fellow hometown residents

to give me stricter guidance

and to enlighten me on my mistakes.

And please send your wisdom and support

so that I can start anew.

I, Hong Joon-pyo,

will deeply take to heart all criticisms and comments,

and with a humbler attitude,

stand up again together with you.

Respected citizens of Daegu,

Daegu is currently

going through unprecedented days of suffering due to the outbreak of the ‘Wuhan coronavirus’ epidemic.

I sincerely salute all those who are doing their utmost to prevent the spread of the epidemic.

And I offer words of comfort to the 2.5 million citizens of Daegu

who are maintaining Daegu’s pride despite difficult circumstances.

Not long ago, I walked for a long time on Suseong-ro and Sincheon walking paths in the rain.

Many emotions crossed my mind.

Daegu’s hardships intersected with my own situation,

and my nose tingled so much that I could not take a step for a while.

Exactly 94 years ago, Daegu’s national poet Lee Sang-hwa cried out,

“Is spring coming even to the stolen fields, now foreign land?”

I could not hide my despair, wondering if under the current administration,

our Daegu has become ‘foreign land’ and if Suseongbeol is treated as ‘stolen fields.’

I visited Donghwasa Temple

and deeply thought about what I can do to restore the lost pride of myself and Daegu,

or what Daegu wants from me.

In my 25 years of political life,

I have longed to embrace Daegu,

and only after shedding the shackles of party affiliation

could I finally embrace it.

My political ties with Daegu

seemed to continue but ultimately did not.

In this 21st general election,

I initially considered running in Daegu but volunteered as the PK defense captain,

yet the party’s malicious forces did not even allow that.

My first political tie with Daegu was

the Suseong Gap constituency.

After retiring as the ‘Sandglass Prosecutor’ in December 1995,

the constituency I considered running for was Suseong Gap.

At that time, a person I had arrested was pardoned and ran as a candidate for the United Liberal Democrats.

I thought, “Such a person should not return to politics,”

and planned to run in Suseong Gap.

However, since a prosecutor and a suspect facing off could be misunderstood as a ‘political investigation,’

I had to give up running.

Later, in October 2001, during the Seoul Dongdaemun by-election,

I secretly hoped to run in Daegu’s general election scheduled for April 2004.

However, then party chairman Lee Hoi-chang strongly urged me to run in Seoul Dongdaemun,

and my second political tie with Daegu did not continue.

The third was before the 2004 17th National Assembly election,

when I had to defeat a competitive environmental activist candidate from the Democratic Party running in Daegu Jung-Nam-gu.

As a nomination screening committee member,

I requested Kim Moon-soo, chairman of the nomination screening committee,

“Please let me go to Daegu.”

However, I was dissuaded with, “Eastern and northern Seoul and Suseong are urgent,

if you go to Daegu, I will abandon Bucheon and go down to my hometown Yeongcheon,”

and I had to give up again.

The fourth was during the 2006 local elections.

When Daegu Mayor Jo Hae-nyung decided not to run,

I intended to run for Daegu mayor.

But I had to give up due to opposition from senior Daegu politicians.

Dear citizens of Daegu,

I was born in Changnyeong,

but attended elementary school in Daegu,

and graduated from middle and high school there.

Most of my friends and acquaintances are in Daegu.

As I have said many times,

Changnyeong is my birthplace,

and Daegu is my hometown that raised me.

The desire and challenge to “work for my hometown on my hometown land”

continued.

The fifth political challenge in my hometown was

when the Daegu mayor retired in 2014,

and I was asked to run as his successor.

At that time, having been elected governor of Gyeongnam only a year and a half earlier,

I did not consider it deeply.

Although it was a half-joking suggestion,

my heart fluttered even then.

The sixth was in 2017.

While serving as the leader of the Liberty Korea Party,

I took on the role of party committee chairman for Daegu Buk, despite internal and external criticism.

I rejected many dissuasions,

and my reason was none other than

“I want to do my final politics in the hometown that raised me.”

However, after losing the 2018 local elections and stepping down as party leader,

I had to give up the Daegu Buk party committee chairman position as well.

The seventh setback was in this 21st general election,

when I intended to run in Daegu Dong-gu E.

I tried to defeat Representative Yoo Seung-min, who competed in the last presidential election, and dominate Daegu,

but with the unification of right-wing parties, the parties merged.

Unable to fight under one roof,

I had to turn my steps from my ‘hometown that raised me’ to my ‘birthplace hometown.’

Thus, my 25-year political life

was like a salmon returning to its hometown,

aiming to do my final politics in my hometown land.

My hometown political instincts and desires hidden within me

led me to Daegu seven times, including runs for National Assembly in Suseong-gu, Jung-Nam-gu, Buk-gu E, Dong-gu E, and three attempts at Daegu mayor,

but each time I was frustrated.

Now, after seven attempts and eight tries,

shedding the party’s shell and shackles,

I intend to start ‘hometown politics’ in my dream hometown Daegu.

Respected citizens,

citizens of Daegu,

South Korea is now

falling due to the left-wing populism and policy failures of the Moon Jae-in administration.

We are being pointed at worldwide,

and security and the economy are in a very serious state.

In the last presidential election,

I shouted “Protect the Free Republic of Korea.”

In the local elections, I asked, “Will you hand over security and the economy entirely?”

I want to shout the same again now.

Is South Korea on the right path?

Can we just watch the Moon Jae-in administration as it is?

On October 3 last year,

I declared “Impeachment of President Moon Jae-in by the people” at Gwanghwamun Square.

Who can properly carry out the movement to overthrow the Moon Jae-in administration now?

I, Hong Joon-pyo, am the one who can do it best,

and no one else can do it properly but me.

With their mismanagement and failures overflowing,

who can say that the powerless opposition leadership is doing its job well?

I will judge the current administration together with the citizens of Daegu,

and lead the opposition leadership to fight properly.

Secondly, I will restore Daegu’s pride

and make Daegu a prosperous hometown (풍패지향, 豊沛之鄕) again.

Though called the heart of conservatism,

Daegu’s pride was deeply wounded during the impeachment crisis,

and TK’s political power has endlessly declined.

Since the Park Geun-hye administration,

I boldly say that I, Hong Joon-pyo, am the only one who can bring the administration back to Daegu.

I, Hong Joon-pyo,

will strive harder to restore a conservative right-wing administration,

and promise to bring back the glory and prosperity of Pungpae (풍패, 豊沛) that lasted over 40 years.

Thirdly, after winning the Daegu general election,

I will immediately rejoin the party.

Leaving the party is only for about 40 days.

I will return to the party, correct the wrong behaviors seen in the nomination process,

and make conservatism conservative and the opposition party an opposition party.

The current United Future Party

is nothing but a hastily formed ‘mixed party’ for election purposes.

‘TK conservatives’ are the orthodox conservatives who have protected South Korea,

and the mainstream of Korean conservatism.

As clearly revealed in this nomination process,

the loss of values and centrist bias of the Gangnam and PK vested right-wing called ‘liberal right-wing’

should be criticized.

I will reform the party into one centered on values and principles of freedom protection, market-centeredness, and welfare for ordinary people,

and build a solid foundation for winning the presidential election.

Respected citizens of Daegu,

I will first wipe away ‘Daegu’s tears’

and revive Daegu.

Daegu’s achievements and prosperity

have long become stories of the past.

The regional gross production has been last for decades,

companies are leaving, and jobs are decreasing.

At this rate, Daegu’s future is very bleak.

We must fundamentally change Daegu’s industrial structure.

We will attract technology-centered high-tech industries

and lure headquarters of large corporations.

Through remodeling existing industrial complexes,

we must transform them into smart complexes suitable for the 4th Industrial Revolution era.

As an inland city, Daegu’s only gateway to overseas is the airport.

Using Daegu New Airport,

we will attract high value-added industries such as semiconductors that can export.

The final stage of advanced automobiles

is the flying car that can fly in the sky and run on the ground.

We will establish a flying car research and development center and specialized industrial complex in Daegu

to create high-quality jobs.

Through this, we will build the foundation for a leap of a completely different dimension from the past,

that is, a Daegu quantum jump.

By winning this general election,

I will start the quantum jump strategy,

and after the regime change in 2022,

mobilize all national resources and capabilities

to definitely achieve this.

Citizens of Daegu,

More urgent than this long-term plan

is the Wuhan coronavirus countermeasure.

Daegu’s shops are closed now,

and the local economy is paralyzed.

While citizen health and quarantine are important immediately,

we must worry about citizens’ livelihoods in a month or two.

Of the 11.7 trillion won supplementary budget,

less than 10% goes to Daegu.

Although declared a special disaster area,

this alone is not enough.

I demand from the Moon Jae-in administration

an urgent preemptive measure to revive the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region,

the ‘TK Corona New Deal 20 trillion won.’

10 trillion won through supplementary budgets and fiscal support,

6 trillion won through tax reductions such as value-added tax exemption,

and separately,

4 trillion won from Daegu City and Gyeongbuk Province disaster management funds through issuing ‘Corona bonds.’

The previous government’s efforts to maintain fiscal soundness

were for use in such emergencies.

Now is the time to release reserved government finances.

We must absorb liquidity in the market and invest it in disaster recovery.

If President Moon does not consider TK as ‘foreign land,’

I expect him to actively respond to this.

Our Daegu is a city proud of the spirit of the National Debt Repayment Movement.

After the corona crisis passes, Daegu will unite

to repay even part of the contributed funds,

gathering the will of 2.5 million citizens.

The ‘disaster basic income system’ promoted by some in the ruling party

is populist handouts and merely a temporary fix.

It is not suitable for Daegu-Gyeongbuk, which is experiencing an unprecedented catastrophe.

Through the ‘TK Corona New Deal,’

we will use it for emergency relief, damage support, and revitalizing the local economy,

and repay it later when recovered, which is the right path.

Additionally, I will enact the ‘Corona Disaster Overcoming Special Act’

to take necessary measures such as epidemic prevention and relief system maintenance for public health safety.

Respected citizens of Daegu,

Dear citizens of Suseong-gu,

We can do it.

Daegu can do it.

Who are we?

Daegu is the land of Pungpae,

which has led 70 years of Korea’s glory and achievements,

the heart of conservative right-wing,

we are Daegu.

For Daegu’s dignity, honor, and prosperity,

Daegu’s son,

I, Hong Joon-pyo, will devote myself.

From now on, no one will look down on or despise our Daegu.

Let us all unite our strength

to revive struggling Daegu

and save this collapsing country.

I am very grateful and honored

to do my final politics in my hometown Daegu

together with the citizens of Daegu.

I will prove to you

that your choice can be proud.

Please lend me your strength.

Thank you very much.

March 17, 2020

Daegu Suseong E ‘Citizen Nomination’ Candidate Hong Joon-pyo

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