Hong Joon-pyo: "Those wicked people who talk about reverse selection and want to exclude Honam... Should we unite among ourselves for the presidential election?"

Hong Joon-pyo, a preliminary presidential candidate of the People Power Party, is holding a press conference on the afternoon of the 30th at the People Power Party Jeju Provincial Office in Yeon-dong, Jeju City. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim So-young] Hong Joon-pyo, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party, sharply criticized the internal party disagreement over the introduction of the 'reverse selection prevention clause' as a "truly absurd debate."

On the 31st, Hong wrote on his Facebook, "Do we only vote for the presidential election among ourselves? Is the presidential election an election to choose the party leader?" and criticized the issue.

He pointed out, "If you talk about reverse selection just because support is rising in Honam, was all the talk about accompanying Honam by the party so far just false behavior?" and added, "There are even malicious people who now talk about reverse selection and suggest excluding Honam from the primary opinion polls after setting policies for Honam and turning the party's rejection sentiment in Honam into favorable feelings toward the candidate, which raised the approval ratings."

He continued, "In 1980, Reagan, a Republican, became president with massive support from Democratic voters," and raised his voice, saying, "If the newly formed party primary committee tries to overturn the primary rules already confirmed by the Primary Preparation Committee and ratified by the Supreme Council without the consent of all candidates through some manipulation, it is nothing but an act of treason that breaks the primary process and ruins the presidential election."

He added, "Stop these obvious and visible actions," and "The people who wish for a regime change are watching with wide-open eyes."

Earlier, the Primary Preparation Committee (PPC), chaired by Assemblyman Seo Byung-soo, decided not to include the reverse selection prevention clause. However, Jeong Hong-won, the head of the primary election management committee who discusses the primary rules, reignited the controversy on the 30th by announcing at a closed Supreme Council meeting that he would fully reconsider the proposal made earlier by the party's PPC.

The election management committee plans to gather the positions of each candidate by this weekend and announce the final primary rules next week.

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