Hong Jung-wook: "If You Give Up Running for Fear of Losing, You Will Regret It for Life"

Hong Jung-wook, former member of the Grand National Party (currently the People Power Party). Photo by Hong Jung-wook Official Website Capture

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seul-gi] Former Hannara Party (now People Power Party) lawmaker Hong Jung-wook said on the 7th, "The pain from failure fades with time, but the regret from giving up becomes clearer day by day."

On that day, Hong posted on his homepage, "If you give up running for fear of losing, you will regret it for the rest of your life. Regret is much more frightening than failure," he said.

He added, "Many people think I was spectacularly recruited in the 18th general election in 2008," and "As a young president of a major central media company with relatively high public recognition, most would not imagine that I ran without any promise of nomination."

He continued, "However, after deciding to run for the National Assembly, I set up a campaign office in Dongjak-gu, where I was born and spent my childhood, without any particular plan and started campaigning," and "Soon, I rose to first place in the preliminary candidate support ratings in the district, but in the end, the nomination went to the candidate ranked fourth in support. I could not understand the criteria by which the candidate was decided, but the result could not be changed," he recalled.

He said, "The day after losing in Dongjak-gu, a friend who was managing my campaign suggested trying again in Jung-gu, where my company was located at the time. I decided to run in Jung-gu and looked for a campaign office near Sindang-dong," and "However, before I could even find an office, a well-known female lawmaker was chosen as the Jung-gu candidate. It was my second rejection (failure to be nominated)," he said.

Former Hong Jung-wook, a member of the Grand National Party (currently the People Power Party).
Photo by Yonhap News

Former lawmaker Hong said, "Since the selection of candidates in the Seoul area was practically finalized, I had no choice but to end my campaign. The campaign workers and volunteers who ran with me for a couple of months shed tears in regret, but it was a dead end," he said.

Finally, he said, "The greatest risk is choosing no risk at all. There has never been a case where giving up became the mother of success."

Meanwhile, former lawmaker Hong stated last September that he has no intention of resuming political activities or running for Seoul mayor. Since then, he has been continuing an essay series since the 16th of last month.

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