9 Years Ago, Hong Joon-pyo Also Pointed Out 'Kim Jong-in Bribery'... 'Party Internal Backlash' Mirrors That Time

Kim Jong-in, former General Election Committee Chairman of the United Future Party, is delivering a greeting at the 'Right Society Movement Union, Political Reform Forum' held at the Bankers Hall in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 24th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] There is growing controversy both inside and outside the party regarding Kim Jong-in, the former overall election committee chairman of the United Future Party, who has been appointed as the chairman of the party's Emergency Response Committee (ERC). Not only are voices opposing the 'Kim Jong-in ERC' rising within the party, but outside the party, former Liberty Korea Party leader Hong Joon-pyo is also opposing it, citing the 'Donghwa Bank slush fund' incident. Hong previously mentioned this case when Kim served as an emergency committee member of the Grand National Party, the predecessor of the United Future Party, in 2011.

On the 26th, Hong posted on his Facebook, "I am absolutely against an unidentified corrupt figure manipulating the party any longer," continuing his criticism of Kim. Although on the 17th, he had evaluated Kim as suitable for the ERC chairman position on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' he changed his stance after Kim stated on the same radio program that he was effectively demanding unlimited authority.

On this day as well, through Facebook, Hong detailed how he obtained a confession from Kim during the investigation of the Donghwa Bank slush fund case, labeling him a 'corrupt figure.' He said, "Chief prosecutor Ham Seung-hee told me to go in, so I told the nervous Kim, 'Isn't it shameful for the grandson of Judge Kim Byung-ro to lie after doing such things? If you resist any further, the amount of bribes will increase, so why not end it with what has been tracked so far?'" He added, "After just two words, the man who had resisted all night thought for a moment and agreed."

He added, "The reason I have to speak out now is that I can no longer tolerate such a person filling his old age with talk of reform in politics," and "If you have any shame, please stop lurking around our party (United Future Party) from now on."

This is not the first time Hong has exposed Kim's bribery issues. In December 2011, during the 'Park Geun-hye ERC,' Hong criticized the members of the emergency committee, saying about Kim, "He is someone from whom I got a confession in 10 minutes when he was a prosecutor. Seeing what he is doing these days is absurd." Former lawmaker Jeon Yeo-ok also posted on her homepage at the time, "If a committee member for the Grand National Party's reform was sentenced to prison for bribery, then reform is out of the question."

Notably, at that time, Kim mentioned the 'resignation theory of Lee Myung-bak (MB) faction power brokers,' which led to demands for his resignation from pro-Lee faction lawmakers within the party, citing his conviction in the Donghwa Bank bribery case. This overlaps with the current internal backlash as Kim advocates for the '40s generation theory' and shows willingness for personnel reform within the United Future Party. As the party plans to hold a national committee meeting on the 28th to approve the 'Kim Jong-in ERC,' voices led by three-term lawmaker Kim Tae-heum and others are calling for postponing the meeting. They argue that the elected officials' convention scheduled for the 29th should be held first to gather consensus before convening the national committee.

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