"Targeted Penalty" Hong Joon-pyo Submits Opinion to Party... Calls Kim Jae-won "Shameless"

"The referee sets unprecedented rule to play as a player... Unfair"

Hong Jun-pyo, a member of the People Power Party, is announcing the 'Comprehensive Policy Shift for the Era of G7 Advanced Countries' at the JP Hope Camp in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of October 30 last year. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Jung-wan] Hong Joon-pyo, a member of the People Power Party who officially declared his candidacy for Daegu mayor, submitted a written opinion to the party's Supreme Council and the Nomination Management Committee on the 28th, stating that "imposing penalties only on certain periods and some individuals is unfair."

On the same day, Hong disclosed the submitted opinion on his Facebook, arguing that "the resolution passed by the Supreme Council on the 21st goes against fairness and justice and should be fully withdrawn."

Earlier, the Supreme Council approved nomination rules for the June local elections that deduct points by 10% for incumbent lawmakers and 15% for those with a history of running as independents. Hong, who falls under both regulations, has continuously raised issues regarding this.

In particular, Hong sharply criticized Kim Jae-won, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party running for Daegu mayor, claiming that Kim contributed to the creation of the nomination penalty rules.

Hong said to Supreme Council member Kim Jae-won, "Above all, it is unfair to establish unprecedented regulations so that a referee can play as a player. The fact that an interested party led and participated in the vote is legally null and void. The specific Supreme Council member who led the establishment of this nomination regulation declared his candidacy in the morning and immediately attended the Supreme Council meeting to demand and enforce regulations favorable to himself."

He continued, "It is truly regrettable that the party leadership, which should be fair and impartial, is being disrupted by personal greed," adding, "No matter what justification is given, this is nothing but an illegal and impure intention to exclude a specific competing candidate."

Hong stated, "Supreme Council members running in local elections should immediately resign from their positions," and pointed out, "Party branch chairpersons running in this local election are required to resign collectively by the April 1 deadline. Nevertheless, a Supreme Council member, who holds the highest authority in party affairs, does not resign after declaring candidacy and interferes with the primary election rules, which is a deceitful political act and shameless behavior."

Hong also argued, "Regarding the independent candidate penalty issue, it is equivalent to a general amnesty as the reinstatement procedures for independent candidates in the 20th general election last August were completed," and "Despite the complex entanglement of major party figures' withdrawal and reinstatement due to the impeachment incident, imposing penalties targeting only a very limited period is extremely unfair."

He said, "The independent candidate penalty clause seriously violates fairness and equity and damages party unity and democratic principles," adding, "It stems from an impure intention to block the candidacy of a specific individual and is against justice."

Hong emphasized that the penalty clause does not exist in the party constitution and regulations, calling it an unprecedented measure.

He explained, "Our party constitution and regulations include provisions for candidate bonus points but not penalty clauses. Even if penalties were to be imposed, they should be given to incumbent local government heads to limit re-election or due to high replacement indices, and there has never been a case of penalizing challengers," adding, "The party constitution and regulations allow for single recommendations when one among multiple applicants has overwhelmingly superior competitiveness. Usually, if the gap between first and second place is about 10%, a single recommendation is made, and this should be actively considered. Also, if the replacement index gap of an incumbent local government head is more than twice, they must be replaced and cut off."

Hong appealed, "Please ensure fair competition in the local election primaries. I am subject to both the independent and incumbent lawmaker penalty rules, resulting in a 25% deduction. How can a fair primary be conducted when my hands and feet and mouth are tied like this? I cannot accept having to compete in the primary while being punished for something I did wrong."

He added, "It is too harsh and politically unethical to impose such penalties again on me, who suffered for one year and four months due to reinstatement," and urged, "Please accept my intention to step aside from central politics and focus on city administration for rebuilding and future prosperity in my hometown Daegu."

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