Hong Jun-pyo: "Myeong Tae-gyun is just one of the hundreds of thousands I've met in 30 years of politics"

Hong "A broker and swindler completely unrelated to me"

Hong Joon-pyo, the mayor of Daegu, drew a clear line by saying, "Myeong Tae-gyun is just one of the hundreds of thousands of people I have met during my 30 years in politics," and "I have absolutely no connection with him."

On the 21st, Mayor Hong began his post on his Facebook by saying, "Many people are worried whether I am involved because the special prosecutor law passed by the Democratic Party this time includes the Myeong Tae-gyun controversy, but Myeong Tae-gyun is just one of the hundreds of thousands of people I have met during my 30 years in politics."

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

He continued, "In politics, you meet swindlers and thieves, but the issue is whether you have engaged in illegal or illicit acts with them," adding, "I have never said that I do not know Myeong Tae-gyun or that I have never spoken to him on the phone, but what is clear is that I have known for a long time that he is not a good person."

Then Mayor Hong asserted, "Therefore, I have never kept him close like someone else or used him, and since I have never engaged in illegal or illicit acts with him even once, I was able to confidently label him as a political broker, braggart, and swindler from the moment the Myeong Tae-gyun incident occurred." This statement is interpreted as a response to claims by Myeong’s legal representative that the so-called 'golden phone' secured by the prosecution contains content related to Hong Joon-pyo, the mayor of Daegu.

Mayor Hong also said, "Since the last presidential candidate primary, I have known that Myeong Tae-gyun was attached to Yoon (the president) and was manipulating things, and I was worried that he would cause a big accident later," adding, "But I have absolutely no connection with him, so there is nothing to worry about." He raised his voice, saying, "At least I am not a foolish person who is played by someone like Myeong Tae-gyun," and "Left-wing media are desperate to find any involvement of mine from Myeong Tae-gyun’s phone, but it will be a complete waste of effort." Finally, Mayor Hong concluded his post by emphasizing, "Still, I know how to judge people."

Earlier, on the 18th, Mayor Hong of Daegu strongly denied claims from Myeong’s side that he asked Kim Jong-in, former emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, for reinstatement through Myeong, and announced that he would file a defamation (false information disclosure) lawsuit against Myeong and his legal representative, lawyer Nam Sang-kwon.

In an interview with MBC Radio, lawyer Nam claimed, "In April 2021, Mayor Hong called Myeong and spoke about asking Kim Jong-in, then emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, for reinstatement. Myeong said, 'I will finalize it,' and on April 25 of that year, met Kim at a Jeju Island villa owned by A, a supporter of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, to ask for Mayor Hong’s reinstatement."

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