Hong Joon-pyo: "If the Democratic Party files a complaint, it will be considered false accusation"

"I Jae-myung, Unusual Crisis Escape Method"
"Hong Joon-pyo Clung On and Avoided Disciplinary Action"

Kim Seong-ju, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, compared the allegations of 'Seongnam FC fundraising' against Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader, with the case of Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo's fundraising for Gyeongnam FC, criticizing Mayor Hong. In response, Mayor Hong called it a "stupid claim" and said that if the Democratic Party files a complaint against him over this matter, he will sue them for false accusation.

On the 24th, during CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' when the host asked if there seemed to be an atmosphere where the Democratic Party might actually file a complaint against Mayor Hong, he replied, "Whether they do or not, if they do, it will be considered a false accusation."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, Representative Kim raised his voice questioning why the prosecution requested an arrest warrant for Lee regarding the Seongnam FC fundraising allegations but did not raise any issues about Mayor Hong's similar fundraising for Gyeongnam FC.

In response, Mayor Hong said, "Whether it becomes a crime or not depends on whether there was a quid pro quo," adding, "Lee gave something in return, but when we signed the sponsorship contract, nothing was given in return. That was thoroughly investigated during the Moon Jae-in administration for a year."

He continued, "I was also investigated, and my wife, two sons, and daughter-in-law had all their bank accounts thoroughly checked," emphasizing, "Gyeongnam FC was audited for two months by the acting successor sent during the Moon Jae-in administration, and everything was done. Since there were no problems, the case was closed."

Mayor Hong also hinted at legal action on social media in response to Representative Kim's accusations. He warned, "If they keep doing nonsense, I will have no choice but to take legal action," and added, "I hope they don't drag me further into Lee's case." On the radio that day, he showed confidence by saying, "If Kim files a false complaint, like what happened in the 18th National Assembly when a Democratic Party member named Woo was accused of receiving 2.4 billion won from a savings bank, was investigated, prosecuted, and expelled from politics, then bring it on if you have the guts."

He also mentioned an anecdote from when Lee was involved in the 'relegation battle' in the past football league, criticizing him by saying, "He is a very strange person. His way of escaping crises is somewhat unusual." When Seongnam FC and Gyeongnam FC were both facing relegation from the second division, Lee, then mayor of Seongnam, criticized the Professional Football Federation and was subject to disciplinary action. At that time, Mayor Hong, then governor of Gyeongnam, protested Lee's disciplinary action and helped him, but Lee instead clung to the issue.

He said, "Even though I protested like that, when he went to the disciplinary hearing, what Lee said was a masterpiece," adding, "'Governor Hong also criticized the Professional Football Federation, right? So discipline Governor Hong as well.' He clung to that."

He continued, "By clinging like that, he said, 'Hong Joon-pyo is in the ruling party, so he’s not disciplined, but I’m in the opposition party, so I’m disciplined?' That’s how he survived." This is interpreted as an attempt by the Democratic Party to 'cling on' and escape the crisis by pointing out Mayor Hong's Gyeongnam FC issue.

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