Hong Jun-pyo Warns Yoon's Side, "Be Prepared if You Slander My Camp Again"

Hong Jun-pyo "Our camp personnel involved in accusation solicitation? ... Wrong political behavior"

People Power Party presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo is answering questions at a lively discussion hosted by the Korea Journalists Association, held on the afternoon of the 14th at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Hong Joon-pyo, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party, warned his intra-party rival, former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, on the 15th, saying, "If you are confident, don't hide and face it like a man."

On the same day, Hong said in a post on his Facebook, "If you slander my camp one more time, be prepared for the consequences."

Earlier, Yoon's camp raised suspicions that Cho Seong-eun, the whistleblower in the so-called 'accusation solicitation' case, was accompanied by a person affiliated with a specific camp when she met Park Ji-won, the Director of the National Intelligence Service, at a hotel in Seoul on August 11. It is reported that Yoon's camp suspects Mr. Lee, who holds a key position in Hong's camp, as the 'accompanying person.'

Yoon Seok-yeol, a preliminary candidate for the People Power Party's presidential primary, appeared on the YouTube live broadcast "All Day Labang," held on the 12th at the party's central office in Yeouido, Seoul, targeting 12 preliminary candidates for the primary. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Hong criticized this, saying, "Such pitiful people," and added, "To escape from the political conspiracy case suspected to have been carried out during their tenure in the prosecution, they are using the party's official organization, slandering other camps, and even mobilizing their own lawmakers to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. This is not new politics but the worst kind of old-fashioned politics."

He continued, "Don't drag my camp into such a mudslinging fight," and added, "Let's not be petty."

On the previous day, Hong also criticized through his Facebook, saying, "Empty dreams lead to ruin," and "Spreading false rumors as if someone from our camp was involved in the accusation solicitation case, and when asked to specify, they counterattack by telling reporters to investigate. This is a badly learned, malicious political behavior."

He further posted, "Following the slander of my camp members in the accusation solicitation case by a certain candidate's side, there are also false rumors that I threw an ashtray at my staff during my time as Governor of Gyeongsangnam-do," and pointed out, "I don't even smoke, so talking about an ashtray is an absurd idea."

He added, "I know exactly who is spreading these false rumors. No matter how desperate you are, act confidently," and directly stated, "That is the path to self-destruction."

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