Opposition's Hong Joon-pyo on 'National Interview': "22 Minutes of Mocking and Snickering... I've Never Seen Anything Like It in My Life"

"Please refrain from such events"
"Primary management without debate is meaningless"

On the 9th, Hong Joon-pyo, a candidate in the People Power Party's presidential primary, is conducting a public interview at the 'People's Signal Interview' held at Jeul Studio in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] After completing a public interview with the People Power Party's presidential primary candidates, Assemblyman Hong Joon-pyo expressed a skeptical sentiment on the 10th, saying, "In my 26 years in politics, this is the first time I've seen presidential candidates being interviewed, and it's also the first time I've seen a party insult candidates during an interview."

In a post on his Facebook that day, Assemblyman Hong stated, "I can understand if it were a nomination management committee, but this is merely a primary management committee," adding, "Out of the three interviewers, two were from the opposing camp, and for 22 minutes, instead of asking about the candidates' experience, they mocked, ridiculed, and snickered with biased questions from a narrow-minded perspective."

He continued, "It is difficult to participate in such events any longer," and pointed out, "The presidential election requires traveling nationwide. Please refrain from holding such events that hinder candidates who have busy local schedules."

He also criticized, saying, "Primary management without debates is a meaningless primary management."

Earlier, the People Power Party held a 'National Signal Public Interview' on the 9th targeting six presidential primary candidates. The interview, held at Jeul Studio in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, was attended by former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon, NewsTop CEO Kim Jun-il, and Dongguk University Law School professor Park Sun-young as 'national interviewers.' The interview was conducted in a format where these interviewers questioned the candidates.

During the interview, when Assemblyman Hong was asked about concerns that "if elected president, all public medical centers nationwide would be closed," he responded sharply, "It is quite frustrating to hear such forced logic from an interviewer," and added, "Those who claim this are hardcore leftists and narrow-minded, so if I run for president, I will never vote for them."

After the interview, Assemblyman Hong shared his thoughts with reporters, saying, "I've been hit so many times over 26 years that now I am confident in handling it." However, he expressed discomfort about the interview. He claimed, "The party received 100 million won but couldn't just cut candidates, so they created this event," and added, "Candidates have many schedules, so I hope they don't call us to such events unless it's a debate."

Assemblyman Hong was not the only candidate skeptical about the national interview. Another People Power Party presidential candidate, former Assemblyman Yoo Seung-min, also told reporters after the interview, "I think this interview method is unreasonable. The fairest way is to give candidates equal time and allow free questioning and answering," and said, "Many pledges were announced, but all the time was spent on the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family. It's somewhat absurd."

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