A Minefield of Unrestrained Words... Yoon and Hong on the Brink of Conflict

Hong Side Launches Intense Illegal Election Attacks on Yoon
Fake Park Samo Controversy Also Under Scrutiny

Yoon Side: "Party Committee Chairman Can Campaign
Content in Recording Is Not Illegal"

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol (left) and People Power Party lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo

[Asia Economy Reporters Hyunju Lee and Juni Park] On the 3rd, two days before the final primary to decide the People Power Party's presidential candidate, the level of conflict between the first and second place candidates has reached its peak. Amid fierce controversy over 'illegal election campaigning' between the Yoon Seok-yeol camp and the Hong Joon-pyo camp, newly coined derogatory terms disparaging the opposing candidate are also rampant.

On this day, the Hong Joon-pyo camp of the People Power Party launched a concentrated offensive, accusing the Yoon Seok-yeol former Prosecutor General's camp of conducting illegal election campaigning. Lee Eon-ju, co-chair of the Hong Joon-pyo camp's joint election committee, appeared on the radio and played part of a recorded conversation, criticizing that "party members are made to believe as if there is a specific candidate (former Prosecutor General Yoon) endorsed by the party." She also mentioned that the same person received multiple calls, stating, "If they are volunteers or part-time workers, it is a violation of election law." The 'fake Park Sa-mo (Park Geun-hye Lovers Association) controversy' also came under scrutiny. Lee said, "Different individual groups, not the original Park Sa-mo, gathered to form the Park Sa-mo executive committee, and the camp used the name Park Sa-mo for media play," adding that both the Park Sa-mo side and Park Geun-hye's younger brother Park Ji-man denied the facts.

On the other hand, the Yoon Seok-yeol camp rebutted that according to the People Power Party's constitution and regulations, members of the National Assembly or party district chiefs are allowed to campaign, so the content in the recording is not illegal. They also denied online posts claiming that Yoon's side pressured party members to vote citing nominations as baseless. Kwon Seong-dong, head of the comprehensive support headquarters of the Yoon Seok-yeol camp, has even filed a lawsuit against Hong's camp spokesperson Yeomyeong and others over this matter. On the radio that day, Kwon said, "Even when we nominated city and provincial councilors in our constituency, we never even mentioned the word 'nomination,'" adding, "I strongly suspect that the Hong Joon-pyo camp and the anonymous writer are in cahoots. Everything will come to light after investigation."

Indirect emotional clashes between Hong and former Prosecutor General Yoon continue as well. Yoon's camp calls Hong 'Kkwojunpyo,' meaning 'Hong who borrowed votes from the Democratic Party,' while Hong's camp mocks Yoon as the '398 candidate,' referring to his support levels of 3% in his 20s, 9% in his 30s, and 8% in his 40s, implying he lacks competitiveness in the general election. Professor Seo Min of Dankook University, who has publicly supported Yoon, displayed the phrase 'Chewing Hong-eo Junpyo for Yoon Seok-yeol' in a YouTube video, provoking strong backlash from Hong's camp. 'Hong-eo' is a derogatory term used in some online communities to disparage people from Jeolla Province. 'Hong-eo Junpyo' appears to be a combination of 'Hong-eo' and 'Hong Joon-pyo.' Although Professor Seo apologized immediately, Hong warned on his Facebook, "Go study parasites. Don't meddle in politics anymore."

There is also concern that the conflict between the two sides might be perceived as 'unfavorable' by voters. At a press conference that day, Hong focused on criticizing the Moon Jae-in administration and the Democratic Party's election manipulation rather than negative attacks against former Prosecutor General Yoon. Yoon also said the day before, "I think refraining from negative attacks is desirable for the sake of the one team."

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