Park Jin criticizes Yoon Seok-yeol and Hong Joon-pyo's 'Duterte verbal battle': "How is it different from the Democratic Party's mudslinging primary?"

Park Jin "Refrain from Emotional Conflicts...The Public Will Only Feel Disappointed in the Primary"

Rep. Park Jin of the People Power Party criticized the 'Duterte' debate between the party's presidential candidates, former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol and Rep. Hong Joon-pyo.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seohyun] Park Jin, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party, criticized fellow party member Hong Joon-pyo and former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, who engaged in a heated debate using the 'Duterte' analogy, saying, "Everyone should exercise restraint," and warned, "If you fall into emotional disputes and past attacks like that, the public will only feel disappointed in the primary election."

On the 1st, Park said on his Facebook, "The Duterte controversy? Are you trying to drag this into a muddy primary like the Democratic Party?" and pointed out, "The mutual slander among those who claim to be leading candidates is going too far."

He added, "The debate over the primary rules hasn't even been resolved, yet the Philippine President Duterte has suddenly appeared in the People Power Party primary," and criticized, "Both former Prosecutor General Yoon, who first brought it up, and Hong, who got riled up in response, should both exercise restraint."

He continued, "No matter how much you are competing candidates, it is inappropriate to keep framing fellow party candidates, who should unite for regime change, with the Moon Jae-in administration frame," and said, "Talking about investigations into deep-rooted evils and mentioning impeachment does not help regime change."

He also emphasized, "The party's election commission should not just stand idly by but actively intervene," and stressed, "Mutual slander and negativity that damage the policy primary must be firmly warned, and if it continues, appropriate responsibility should be held accountable to the candidates."

Earlier, on the 1st, former Prosecutor General Yoon expressed a negative view, calling Hong's remark "Duterte-style," after Hong said regarding Yang Mo, a man in his 20s who was arrested on charges of child sexual assault and murder, "If I become president, I will definitely execute such a guy," during a meeting with reporters after visiting the Central Association of the Korean Senior Citizens Association.

In response, Hong sharply criticized Yoon, saying, "When President Moon Jae-in ordered investigations into deep-rooted evils, you rapidly rose to the position of chief of the Central District Prosecutors' Office and, as a reward, mobilized even the Special 4th Division to indiscriminately investigate about 1,000 people in our camp, arresting over 200 and causing 5 suicides," and added, "President Moon is Duterte, and you are Duterte's henchman."

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