"How Can Choi Jae-hyung Be My Man?" Yoon Seok-yeol and Hong Joon-pyo Clash Over 'Nomination'... Supporters Outraged

Hong Jun-pyo "Regret over Collapse of Camp Participation Agreement"
Democratic Party "Yoon Seok-yeol's Campaign Headquarters Up All Night Due to Power Struggle"

Yoon Seok-yeol, People Power Party presidential candidate (left), Hong Joon-pyo, member of the National Assembly (right) [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] The People Power Party is embroiled in conflict over candidate nominations. Presidential candidate Yoon Seok-yeol recently met with Assemblyman Hong Joon-pyo to discuss forming a united team, but internal strife has erupted within the party after it was revealed that Assemblyman Hong demanded the nomination of former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung for Seoul's Jongno District. Supporters of the People Power Party have also voiced criticism.

On the 19th, it was reported that Candidate Yoon met one-on-one with Assemblyman Hong to discuss forming a united team. However, during this meeting, the topic of nominations arose, and Yoon’s camp publicly criticized it as "old-fashioned politics." Assemblyman Hong immediately expressed displeasure. On the 21st, he posted on his Facebook, saying, "It is utterly arrogant," and expressed "deep regret that the agreement for participation in the Central Election Committee (Election Headquarters) campaign, reached in a good atmosphere, was canceled."

This appears to be a declaration of the breakdown of the united team following the nomination controversy that arose after a dinner meeting with Candidate Yoon. Regarding the nomination controversy, he stated, "The core issue was the displeasure over requests to supplement national governance capabilities and to strictly punish corruption involving the candidate’s family," adding, "Since that cannot be criticized, it is truly despicable to use nomination recommendations as a pretext to portray me as an old-fashioned politician by putting forward Yoon’s key aides."

Earlier, on the morning of the 20th, Election Headquarters Chief Kwon Young-se warned Assemblyman Hong at a joint meeting of the Election Headquarters and the parliamentary leadership, saying, "If you show old-fashioned politics, you will not be recognized even as a party member, let alone a leader."

In response, Assemblyman Hong criticized, "Anyone can express opinions on nominations, and they should be handled through reasonable procedures, but if that is used as a pretext to guard the candidate’s mood, how are we supposed to conduct the election during the remaining period?"

He also directly criticized Candidate Yoon, saying, "I recommended the nomination without prior consultation for him (Yoon), but it is equally pathetic to be used as a tool to criticize me," and added, "Uncomfortable truths do not disappear by avoidance," emphasizing, "The people and party members are not fools."

Regarding former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung, who is known as a nomination candidate, he rebutted, "How is Choi Jae-hyung my person?" and said, "Turning the nomination recommendation into a condition for joining the election headquarters and labeling the presidential election strategy discussion as old-fashioned politics to avoid the essence is, no matter how I think about it, unacceptable. These are truly regrettable behaviors."

Supporters of the People Power Party are outraged. They point out that unnecessary disputes have arisen at a time when the presidential election is just around the corner. Kim, a company employee in his 40s, said, "We should unite as one focusing only on the presidential election, but this kind of thing happened again," and raised his voice, "Isn’t the issue with Yoon’s key aides already resolved?" Park, a self-employed person in his 30s, said, "The election strategy must not be shaken," adding, "The Democratic Party seems to see (the current conflict) as an opportunity."

As supporters express concern, the Democratic Party on the 20th stated, "Is the fight over dividing spoils a renewal of Yoon Seok-yeol’s candidacy?" and "Or is the People Power Party really so pitiful that even before the presidential election, their only concern is fighting over positions?" Jo Oh-seop, spokesperson for the Democratic Party’s Election Committee, held a briefing at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, saying, "Isn’t the Yoon election headquarters, which stays up all night fighting over positions, embarrassing to the public?"

Democratic Party lawmaker Min Hyung-bae criticized on Facebook, "Hong (Assemblyman Hong) started making statements defending Yoon (Candidate Yoon) after meeting him and making a nomination deal," and said, "Having nothing to boast about, he criticizes our candidate; the real rogue is none other than Hong Joon-pyo." Lawmaker Kim Nam-guk also pointed out, "Is trading nominations as a condition for election support the 'dream of youth' that Assemblyman Hong mentioned?" and criticized, "Yesterday’s meeting between Candidate Yoon and Assemblyman Hong was full of wrong conditions and deals."

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