Hong Jun-pyo Responds to 'Bystander' Criticism: "Party Members Are Not Qualified to Say That"

Hong Jun-pyo, a member of the People Power Party, is giving a greeting speech at the JP Hope Camp closing ceremony held at BNB Tower, Yeouido, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on the morning of November 8.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] Hong Joon-pyo, a member of the People Power Party, responded to criticisms calling him a "bystander" for not joining the party's Central Election Countermeasures Committee by saying, "Party members do not have the right to say such things."

On the 10th, Hong replied this way after a user posted on the bulletin board of 'Cheongmun Hongdap (Hong Joon-pyo answers the concerns of youth)' on the online platform 'Youth's Dream' he created, asking, "How long will you just stand by telling us to do well?"

The user argued, "If you truly think about the people, you should join (the party's election committee) until the end, even if it means taking on the role of disciplining presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol."

Hong also responded to another user who defended him by saying, "Then why didn't you vote well in the previous primary? Why call Hong a bystander now?" by stating, "Party members have no grounds to speak to me."

Hong's remarks are presumed to imply that it was the party members who ultimately chose candidate Yoon, not himself, at the party convention held on the 5th to select the People Power Party's presidential candidate.

At that convention, Hong ranked second due to the party members' votes. He led candidate Yoon in the general public opinion poll with 48.21% to 37.94%, but lagged behind Yoon in the party member vote, receiving 34.80% compared to Yoon's 57.77%.

Hong met with candidate Yoon for dinner on the 2nd after the primary for the first time but is still drawing a line on joining the election committee. When asked by a user about the possibility of joining the committee, he replied on the 4th, "There are still some preconditions."

Meanwhile, Hong maintains a critical stance on candidate Yoon's investigation of former President Park Geun-hye. When a user asked on 'Cheongmun Hongdap' whether Yoon's investigation of Park was not the prosecutor's duty rather than a conservative collapse, Hong replied, "It is a political investigation," adding, "What prosecutors do is criminal investigation."

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