Hong Jun-pyo Criticizes Anti-Reform Controversy: "I Have No Interest in Party Leadership"

A screenshot of a post by Hong Jun-pyo, an independent lawmaker, uploaded on Facebook on the 1st [Photo by Hong Jun-pyo, Independent Lawmaker's Facebook].

[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] Independent lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo rebutted the People Power Party's first-term lawmakers who labeled him as anti-reform, saying, "I find it hard to agree with the absurd thinking of some first-term lawmakers who support party reform by an octogenarian veteran politician but consider a sixtysomething central figure as anti-reform."

On the 1st, Hong criticized on his Facebook, stating, "The country is collapsing like this, yet we still cannot unite as one."

Hong made these remarks while pointing out the mindset of the People Power Party's first-term lawmakers who oppose his return to the party, despite supporting the reform efforts led by Kim Jong-in, the party's emergency committee chairman.

He said, "I have never once opposed party reform; rather, I am just watching as the party now does what I could not do when I was running it," and countered, "How can a party based in Yeongnam regain power by excluding senior members from Yeongnam?"

He continued, "The country is collapsing like this, yet we still cannot unite and seem to be heading toward a fragmented opposition obsessed only with small self-interests, which is regrettable," emphasizing, "I am solely interested in setting the country right and have no interest whatsoever in party leadership."

Meanwhile, last month, the People Power Party abruptly reinstated lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong among the four independents. However, the timing of the reinstatement approval for lawmakers including Hong Joon-pyo, Yoon Sang-hyun, and Kim Tae-ho remains uncertain.

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