Hong Ik-pyo, Who Raised His Hand for 'Heomji' Seocho-eul, Says, "To Reform the Democratic Party, I Must Consider What I Can Do from My Current Position"

Seocho-eul Candidate Hong Ik-pyo "Blaming Each Other for Election Defeat... I Will Devote Myself"

Hong Ik-pyo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (Director of the Democratic Research Institute), is giving a greeting at the party and economic sector policy meeting related to the Three Fair Economy Acts held at the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul on the 15th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Hong Ik-pyo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who gave up his three-term constituency in Jungseong-dong Gap, Seoul, and threw his hat into the ring as the regional chairman of Seocho-eul, a ‘difficult district’ for the Democratic Party, said on the 1st, “There are many debates about who is responsible for the election defeat, so I thought I should sacrifice or devote myself.”

On the same day, Hong appeared on MBC Radio’s ‘Kim Jong-bae’s Focus’ and said, “The Democratic Party has failed to receive the people’s choice for the third consecutive time in major elections, and it seems that everyone is blaming others and no one is taking responsibility. If we want to reform, I had to think about what I can do in my current position.”

However, he said the Democratic Party’s Innovation Committee’s reform proposal to limit three consecutive terms in the same constituency was “not desirable.” He said, “Politicians must make their own judgments and decisions and take responsibility for them,” adding, “(The rule limiting three consecutive terms in the same constituency) reduces the scope of politics.” He also said, “If the National Assembly regains trust, experienced senior lawmakers with multiple terms are necessary,” and “If the people think that those with more than three terms are incompetent and need to be replaced, it is much more appropriate to change them through voting.”

Hong said, “If we fail to recover about 40% of support in the Gangnam Seocho area, it will be difficult to win major elections based on Seoul,” and “Supporters in that area feel that the Democratic Party is giving up on this region, so I want to create an atmosphere of ‘Let’s give it a try.’” When asked what innovation the Democratic Party needs most right now, Hong answered, “Sacrifice and devotion.”

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