People Power Party launches investigation into Hong Joon-pyo's 'Golf During Heavy Rain'... "Serious Matter"

"Discussion on Follow-up Actions After Fact-Finding Investigation"

The People Power Party has launched an investigation into the fact that Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo played golf during the past weekend when heavy rain damage was occurring one after another.

Senior Spokesperson Kang Min-guk said on the 18th after the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly, "The party is taking this matter seriously." It is known that the party's investigation may conclude as early as this afternoon.

Senior Spokesperson Kang explained, "First, the facts will be identified through the investigation, and then there will be discussions about follow-up measures." After the party-level fact-finding, if it is confirmed that Mayor Hong violated the party constitution·party regulations, it is interpreted that an audit by the Party Affairs Inspection Committee or a referral to the Ethics Committee could follow.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, at the Supreme Council meeting that day, Representative Kim said, "At times like this, special care must be taken with words and actions," and added, "I ask that not only party-affiliated lawmakers but also party branch chiefs, local government heads, and government officials refrain from causing controversy through inappropriate words and actions."

Supreme Council Member Kim Byung-min targeted Mayor Hong, saying, "As a representative of the people, a public official who should be more devoted than the public during a national disaster situation not only fails to fulfill that responsibility but also shows a shameless attitude without remorse even after becoming the subject of social criticism, which makes the public frown," and criticized, "Visiting a golf course while nationwide flood damage is occurring is not the basic attitude of a public official."

It is known that Mayor Hong played golf at Palgong CC on the morning of the 15th but stopped after about an hour due to heavy rain. In response to criticism that playing golf during heavy rain was inappropriate, Mayor Hong has maintained a rebuttal stance.

On that morning, he wrote on Facebook, "When a heavy rain warning is issued, the head of the organization only needs to oversee the work and does not have to work normally or stay at home," and added, "During the emergency level 2 alert, as long as you do not leave the designated area, it does not matter what you do. Using public sentiment law to criticize me for playing golf is unavoidable, but it is somewhat inappropriate to still rely on public sentiment law for politics."

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