Hong Joon-pyo: "Among all, President Moon Jae-in committed the most political retaliation"

"Downgrading Former President, Spending Years on Investigation... I Do Not Engage in Political Retaliation"

"Cleared Debt, Then After Gyeongnam Governor Changed, Incurred 800 Billion Won Debt and Went to Prison"

Targeting Yoon Seok-yeol, "I'

People Power Party presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo is responding to a reporter's question at a press conference held at the People Power Party Gyeongnam Provincial Party Office in Changwon, Gyeongnam on the 3rd. Photo by Sanghyun Lee lsh2055@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] Hong Joon-pyo, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party, expressed confidence in winning the primary on the 3rd, saying, "The full-scale debate may start, or even before it begins, there could be a golden cross (poll rating reversal)."

At a press conference held at the People Power Party Gyeongnam Provincial Party Office in Changwon, Gyeongnam, Hong said, "I have participated in many elections over the past 26 years," and added, "When an ascending candidate competes against a descending one, I have never once seen the descending candidate win," showing confidence in his recent upward trend.

He also cited his political experience, stating, "Currently, the Democratic Party coalition holds 180 seats in the National Assembly. Even if there is a regime change, without political skills and government experience, it is impossible to engage in politics through dialogue and compromise with them," and explained, "I am the right person to accomplish that, which is why I am running in this presidential election."

Regarding political retaliation, he said, "Since the era of single-term presidents began, time has been spent belittling and investigating predecessors. I have never seen a developed country like the United States engage in such politics even once," and promised, "If I become president, I will not engage in retaliatory politics."

He added, "Among past presidents, Moon Jae-in was the most severe in political retaliation," criticizing the current administration by saying, "He has been president for five years driven by a desire for revenge."

Regarding the three years of Gyeongnam provincial government led by former Governor Kim Kyung-soo, he criticized, "During my 4 years and 4 months as governor of Gyeongnam, I managed to make it the first metropolitan government with 'zero debt' and planted a commemorative tree hoping that subsequent governors would continue a debt-free administration. However, after the governor changed, the tree was uprooted, and an 800 billion won debt was created, and the governor himself ended up in prison."

Regarding Kim’s core policy, the 'Southeast Mega City,' he claimed, "The mega city that the Democratic Party talks about in each region is a clich?. It is a meaningless phrase that only misleads the residents," and argued, "It would be much more efficient to reorganize the entire country into 40 autonomous local governments."

After finishing his schedule at the Gyeongnam Provincial Party Office, Hong plans to pay respects at the late former President Roh Moo-hyun’s gravesite, stating it is a duty that anyone running for president should properly fulfill.

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