Hong Jun-pyo to Yoon Seok-yeol: "Celebrating Every Night Is a Betrayal of the People... Exercise Restraint"

Kim Geon-hee Accused of False Career and Fake Awards in Professor Application
Hong Joon-pyo: "If Trapped in Wife and Mother-in-law Corruption Frame, Regime Change Becomes Difficult"

Hong Joon-pyo, People Power Party member [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Hong Jun-pyo, a member of the People Power Party, said about presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol, "What worries me most while watching Yoon's presidential campaign is the sign that if he gets trapped in the frame of corruption involving his wife and mother-in-law, it will become really difficult to change the regime."

Some analysts interpret this as a veiled reference to the allegations of false credentials and fake award records of Yoon's wife, Kim Geon-hee, reported by YTN earlier that morning. In an interview with YTN, Kim admitted to the suspicion that she falsely recorded award achievements on her application for an adjunct professor position at Suwon Women's University in 2007, saying, "It was an ambition to stand out. If that is a sin, then it is a sin," thereby acknowledging the fake award records.

However, regarding the false credentials, Kim responded, "Whether you believe it or not, I don't remember. I am verifying the exact circumstances," and added, "There may have been an error in recording the period of employment, but I did not forge the certificate of employment."

In relation to this, Hong posted on his Facebook on the same day, stating, "The biggest reason for Lee Hoi-chang's presidential election failures in 1997 and 2002 was that despite having an excellent candidate, they could not escape the frame of military service corruption allegations involving his two children."

Hong urged, "Even though the desire for regime change is much higher, the reason why the approval rating remains stuck around the 35% box range should be quickly identified and addressed," and added, "Candidate Lee Jae-myung keeps performing endless magic tricks, but celebrating every night is a betrayal of the people. Please exercise restraint."

On the 14th, Hong Joon-pyo, a member of the People Power Party, posted on his Facebook advising presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol to exercise restraint. Photo by Hong Joon-pyo

Meanwhile, Choi Ji-hyun, the senior deputy spokesperson of the People Power Party's election committee, issued a statement on the same day refuting YTN's report. Regarding the allegation of false credentials, Choi explained, "It seems Kim made an error regarding the period of employment," but also clarified, "She helped the association for over two years as a 'planning director' without receiving separate compensation." He emphasized that the certificate of employment was properly issued.

Regarding the allegation of fake award records, he explained, "There was a failure to clearly distinguish between 'individual awards' and 'awards for leading roles within the company' when recording them."

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