Hong Joon-pyo Targets Lee Jun-seok, Criticizes Him as a "Child Lost in Delusion"

"Only Insults During Bareundang Era" Harsh Criticism
Lee Responds, "You Provoked First and Then Talk About Age"

Hong Joon-pyo, the mayor of Daegu, used the expression "a childish kid who only swears" to sharply criticize former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok.

On the 5th, Mayor Hong wrote on Facebook, "I do not respond to the childish tantrums of a kid caught in delusion. No matter who you swear at, it will come back to you exactly as it is."

Hong Joon-pyo, Mayor of Daegu.
Photo by Yonhap News

He did not directly reveal who the "childish kid caught in delusion" was, but judging from the content of the post, it can be inferred that the "kid" refers to former leader Lee.

Mayor Hong continued, "Even during the Bareun Party days, he only swore like that, and it seems that habit has flared up again," adding, "Politics done with shallow knowledge and petty tricks does not last long. That mouth that spews nonsense," launching another fierce attack. Finally, Mayor Hong wrote, "Let's see what happens next year to youth politics that only exploits youth without any youth policies."

One hour after Mayor Hong posted, former leader Lee responded with a link to a news article reporting on Hong’s post, asking, "What should I say about someone who first provokes and then talks about age when rebutting?" and sarcastically added, "People will sum up such behavior in two characters."

Former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok is holding a press conference on current issues including the party convention at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 3rd, referencing the novel "Our Twisted Hero."
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The 'verbal battle' between Mayor Hong and former leader Lee has been ongoing recently. Before Mayor Hong posted the "childish kid" message, former leader Lee wrote on his Facebook, "I only talked about a book, but Mayor Hong also seemed to have associated someone with Eom Seok-dae," and added, "Then someone recalling the sports director from Mayor Hong should also be a freedom to be respected," openly targeting Mayor Hong.

Earlier, former leader Lee sparked controversy by comparing the ruling party’s leadership competition situation to the content and characters of author Lee Mun-yeol’s novel Our Twisted Hero. On the 3rd, he held a press conference at the National Assembly communication office, likening the villain 'Eom Seok-dae' in Our Twisted Hero to President Yoon Seok-youl, and appealed for support for the candidate group 'Cheon Ayongin (Cheon Ha-ram, Heo Eun-ah, Kim Yong-tae, Lee Gi-in),' who are in a position similar to the underdog 'Han Byung-tae.'

In response, Mayor Hong pointed out, "Even if you insult author Lee Mun-yeol, there should be limits. How can you compare our party’s president to the rogue Eom Seok-dae? This is worse than what the Democratic Party does."

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