Yoon Seok-yeol: "Senior Hong Jun-pyo is also an ally for regime change"... Hong Jun-pyo: "Will not participate in the presidential election due to corruption allegations"

Hong Jun-pyo "My role in the presidential election is over"
"The rest of my political life will be with young and middle-aged people"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the candidate elected for the 20th presidential election of the People Power Party, is greeting Assemblyman Hong Joon-pyo at the 2nd party convention held on the afternoon of the 5th at the Baekbeom Kim Koo Memorial Hall in Yongsan-gu, Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, praised Assemblyman Hong Joon-pyo, who was his rival during the primary, saying, "He shone brighter than I did." Candidate Yoon emphasized party cooperation for regime change, stating, "I will diligently learn the wisdom shown by my political seniors."

On the 7th, in a post on his Facebook, Yoon wrote, "Even while busy with the first day of the schedule after yesterday's party convention, I couldn't stop thinking about last Friday's convention," adding, "It was because of the one-team spirit shown by senior Hong Joon-pyo and the other two candidates for the great cause of regime change."

He continued, "Senior Hong Joon-pyo's brief message moved my heart deeply and shone much brighter than my acceptance speech," adding, "The gracious concession greeting with wonderful wit and the elder brother-like smile shown to the people and party members are something I will never forget for a long time."

Candidate Yoon also mentioned other primary candidates. He said, "The message from candidate Yoo Seung-min, who asked us to forget everything that happened during the primary and work hard for party unity and regime change, was equally touching," emphasizing, "The words of candidate Won Hee-ryong, who pledged to devote everything for regime change, were also very reassuring. I realized anew how wonderful politics can be."

He added, "I will diligently learn the patriotism, experience, and wisdom shown by these three political seniors," and said, "Now, we are all comrades for regime change."

Candidates waiting for the announcement of the presidential primary results during the 2nd Party Convention of the People Power Party on the 5th. / Photo by Yonhap News

Candidate Yoon reiterated, "Looking back at our party's history, we won when there was touching concession and unity, but lost when there wasn't," and said, "We will continue this beautiful tradition through regime change."

Yoon's remarks appear to be mindful of Assemblyman Hong, who received strong support from the 2030 youth demographic during the primary process.

Previously, on the 4th, a day before the presidential candidate selection, Assemblyman Hong claimed, "The 2030s overwhelmingly, half of them, have come to Hong Joon-pyo," and "Even in Honam, the 2030s enthusiastically support Hong Joon-pyo."

After Yoon was selected as the presidential candidate in the primary, some 2030 party members expressed strong disappointment and angrily declared, "We will leave the party."

In this regard, Assemblyman Hong stated that he would "share dreams with the youth" but drew a line regarding his role in the presidential election.

In a Facebook post on the 7th, he wrote, "I believe my role ended by making our party's primary dynamic and successful in terms of public interest," and criticized, "I have no intention to participate in a presidential election led by the prosecution for the first time in history with allegations of corruption."

He added, "I plan to create the 'Youth's Dream' platform, a playground for the 2040 generation who enthusiastically supported me, to talk about the world with them and proceed with future political schedules," and said, "I want to spend the rest of my political life with leisure and romance, sharing dreams and hopes with the young and middle-aged people of this land."

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