Ha Tae-kyung Rebuts Hong Joon-pyo's Criticism Over Running in a Challenging District: What Is "Party Dies, I Survive"?

"Refused to Run in Seoul, Left the Party, and Ran as an Independent"
Cheon Haram Also Says, "Couldn't Even Attempt a Metropolitan Run, Ended Up Running as an Independent in Yeongnam"

Ha Tae-kyung, a three-term lawmaker from the People Power Party who announced he would leave his constituency in Haeundae to run in the challenging Seoul district, has rebutted criticism from Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, who said Ha was "just looking out for his own survival." Ha countered that he chose a path where both the party and himself could survive-what he called "Party Survives, I Survive"-while Mayor Hong, during the last general election, took a path where both the party and himself lost-"Party Dies, I Survive."

On October 11, during an appearance on SBS's "Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show," Ha said, "Who was it that chose the path of 'Party Dies, I Survive'? When told to run in Seoul, he refused, left the party, and ran as an independent. So, instead of securing two seats (in Seoul and Daegu), we only got one. In Daegu, even if it wasn't him, it would have been a People Power Party candidate." With these remarks, Ha directly criticized Mayor Hong.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The "Party Dies, I Survive" behavior Ha referred to points to Mayor Hong's actions during the last general election. At the time, the party's nomination committee demanded that Hong either run in a difficult district like Seoul or not run at all. Hong refused, left the party, and ran as an independent in Daegu, where he was elected. Ha commented, "For example, refusing to run in Seoul and leaving the party to run as an independent is just looking out for your own survival, regardless of what happens to the party," indirectly criticizing Hong.

Ha added, "I can't say it's entirely wrong to say (Mayor Hong) is looking out for himself, but that's only half right. My choice was about finding a way for both the party and myself to survive, not about letting the party die so I alone could survive." This was in response to Hong's criticism that Ha was "just looking out for his own survival."

Within the party, there are also many voices criticizing Mayor Hong with similar reasoning, leading to an escalation of the debate surrounding Ha's decision to run in a challenging district. On October 9, Kim Geun-sik, former head of the People Power Party's Vision and Strategy Office, wrote on his social media, "For someone who ran for party leader twice and even for president, to leave the party and run as an independent in Daegu after being cut off in the 21st general election-trying to belittle Ha's decision to put the party first is not right," criticizing Mayor Hong.

Cheon Ha-ram, head of the People Power Party's Suncheon-gap district committee, also shared Hong's remarks on social media the same day, indirectly criticizing Hong by saying, "Isn't it a hundred times better to take on the challenge in the Seoul metropolitan area than to not even dare and end up running as an independent in Yeongnam?"

In response, Mayor Hong wrote on social media, "No matter how much someone struggles in the guise of pseudo-reform, a traitor to comrades is still a traitor. Those who do nothing but criticize the party and the administration every day, without a single reform policy, what are they still doing in the party?" simultaneously criticizing both Cheon and Ha.

On the same day, Cheon responded on KBS's "Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current Affairs," saying, "Someone of Mayor Hong's stature, even if he holds personal grudges, should show a broader-minded attitude, which would earn him a wider reputation as a future presidential contender. I find it difficult to understand why he doesn't. It may be a sore spot for Mayor Hong to be reminded of his own actions in the last general election, but he could simply acknowledge and praise Ha for having found a much better way to ensure his own survival."

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