Hong Joon-pyo: "I'm the Only One Who Can Beat Lee Jae-myung... I Will Rush Forward Like a Gale"

People Power Party presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo is seen smiling brightly while listening to reporters' questions at the 'Hong Joon-pyo Presidential Preliminary Candidate Party Member Greeting and Press Conference' held on the afternoon of the 3rd at the People Power Party Gyeongnam Provincial Office in Uichang-gu, Changwon-si, Gyeongnam. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] Hong Jun-pyo, a member of the People Power Party who has recently been showing a rising trend in approval ratings, expressed confidence by saying, "The only person who can compete with Lee Jae-myung (Governor of Gyeonggi Province) is Hong Jun-pyo."

On the 5th, Hong posted on his Facebook, "Once again, I pledge a golden cross before Chuseok. And fairness is the life of election management," expressing this sentiment.

He began by saying, "When I see something unfair, I do not tolerate it, and when I see something wrong, I do not distinguish between friend and foe," adding, "That is the way I have lived."

He continued, "Even if I receive criticism from some, I am not afraid to speak out," explaining, "I am not attending today's pledge ceremony party event because election management that has lost fairness is unjust."

Earlier, on the 4th, five People Power Party presidential primary candidates including Hong Jun-pyo, Park Chan-joo, Ahn Sang-soo, Yoo Seung-min, and Ha Tae-kyung declared a boycott of the 'anti-reverse voting clause' and announced they would not attend the 'Fair Primary Pledge Ceremony' held at the People Power Party headquarters at 3 p.m. on the 5th. This caused internal friction within the party, including the resignation offer from the party's Election Management Committee (Chairman: former Prime Minister Chung Hong-won), but after a seven-hour meeting that day, the 12 election management committee members unanimously decided not to include the 'anti-reverse voting clause.'

Later that day, Hong posted again on his Facebook, reiterating, "The only person who can defeat Lee Jae-myung is Hong Jun-pyo," and reported, "Finally, we achieved the golden cross. I ranked first by a 3.4% point difference."

He explained, "Among people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, I am ahead of the rival candidate (former Prosecutor General Yoon) by an average of 14 percentage points, and I am also ahead in Honam and across the country. I am only behind in the Chungcheong region and among those in their 60s, but in terms of expansion, I am said to overwhelmingly surpass the opponent."

He added, "I believe Chungcheong and the 60s will soon return as well," and said, "I will run aiming for a 50% approval rating." Hong declared, "I will run like a gale."

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