"If You Mess Up Again, You Have to Delete KakaoTalk" Lee Jun-seok Issues Second Warning to Hong Joon-pyo

Hong Jun-pyo, a member of the People Power Party, attended the 'In-depth Survey Results National Report Conference' held at the Glad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 29th of last month, and greeted Lee Jun-seok, the party leader. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, issued a repeated warning toward party member Hong Joon-pyo's 'group chat room mistake,' saying, "One or two times can be considered a mistake, but if it continues, you should delete the KakaoTalk messenger."

Earlier, on the 1st, Hong posted a message in a group chat room consisting of People Power Party members regarding fellow party member Yoon Hee-sook's declaration to run for president, saying, "When the mullet jumps, the mudfish also jumps." After Kim Woong responded with, "Who is the mullet and who is the mudfish?" Hong deleted the message.

On the morning of the 5th, Lee appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and said, "I accept the explanation that it was a misunderstanding of the group chat room," but added, "Even making such a mistake in such a sensitive situation is subject to criticism. I hope such matters will be handled carefully in the future."

When the host asked if this was a matter for party-level sanctions, Lee replied, "It is not to that extent. He recognized his mistake and deleted it immediately. There was absolutely no intention to enforce it."

Nevertheless, Lee emphasized, "I think (Hong) was greatly hurt this time. Although it was due to his own mistake, I believe he was hurt, and he should be more careful when posting in the group chat room in the future."

This warning is not the first. On the 2nd, Lee also urged through his Facebook, "Some tension among presidential candidates for the sake of excitement is rather encouraged. However, I request restraint from sporadic personal attacks or criticism."

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