Hong Jun-pyo "Why am I being punished and going through primaries as if I did something wrong?"... Repeatedly Opposes Nomination Penalty

Disagreement Over 'Nomination Penalty' Rule
Hong Joon-pyo: "Should We Be Punished During Primaries... Worried About Leadership Chaos"
Kim Jae-won: "Lee Jun-seok Brought a Draft with Higher Deductions"
Lee Jun-seok: "Misunderstanding Leads to Blaming Party Leader"

Hong Joon-pyo, a member of the People Power Party, recently opposed the nomination penalty method decided by the party leadership.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Hong Jun-pyo, a member of the People Power Party who officially declared his candidacy for the Daegu mayoral election, has once again voiced opposition against the party leadership for deciding on guidelines to deduct 10% for incumbent lawmakers and 15% for those with independent candidacy experience in the local election nomination screening.

On the 23rd, Hong posted on his Facebook, raising his voice, saying, "After 27 years of sharing the rise and fall of the party, what wrong have I done to be punished and forced to go through a primary?"

Hong expressed concern about the leadership's disorder, stating, "Now it is not even the opposition but the ruling party leadership. I urge them to abandon selfish desires and be reborn as leaders who think solely of the party and the country."

Earlier, on the 21st, the People Power Party's Supreme Council decided to deduct 15% for those with independent candidacy experience and 10% for incumbent lawmakers in the June 1 local election nominations. According to this policy, Hong, who left the party and ran as an independent in the 21st general election and won, would face a 25% deduction.

Hong strongly opposed this decision, saying, "Are you holding me back when I want to return to my hometown?" On the 22nd, he said on Facebook, "This is not a strategic nomination but a fair primary, so why are you sabotaging it like this? The people and party members are watching closely. Please stop it."

Hong particularly criticized Supreme Council member Kim Jae-won, saying, "The party leadership is being stirred up by personal greed." He pointed out that Kim, who recently declared his candidacy for Daegu mayor, attended the Supreme Council meeting that created the nomination deduction rules, which is unfair. On the 21st, Hong posted on Facebook, stating, "It is legally null and void for an interested party to lead and participate in the vote," and "Those who attended that deceitful vote should not run in the local elections."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

As the controversy grew, Supreme Council member Kim claimed that People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok proposed a higher deduction rate in the draft. In an interview with TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' on the 23rd, he said, "The draft brought by the party leader was about thirteen pages long, including a 25% deduction for those who left the party, 25% for those with disciplinary records, and 15% for those with disciplinary records involving suspension of party membership."

Kim added, "It is the leader's authority to submit the nomination management draft to the Supreme Council, and the leader convened the meeting to discuss it, which included these contents. Among them, due to various controversies, I suggested unifying the deduction rate to 15% because 25% and 15% were complicated."

In response, Leader Lee immediately rebutted. At the National Assembly on the same day, he told reporters, "Kim Jae-won, who is recently running for Daegu mayor, is blaming the party leader because of various misunderstandings. I am considering what kind of situation this is."

Lee said, "I have repeatedly expressed opposition to any form of deduction points, including penalties for incumbents and independent candidacy experience. Kim Jae-won said on the broadcast today that I proposed 35% but he reduced it to 25%, but the meeting minutes and attendees all say that is not the case at all," he added.

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