Hong Jun-pyo: "The real power behind the scenes is stronger, but no criticism of state manipulation... America is really amazing"

Hong Jun-pyo posts on Facebook
Visits the U.S. to attend Trump's inauguration
"Ivanka was key in the first term, Junior in the second"
"Behind-the-scenes power brokers are stronger, but no talk of state corruption in the U.S."

Hong Joon-pyo, Mayor of Daegu Metropolitan City, is presiding over the January executive meeting. Photo by Daegu City

Hong Jun-pyo, Mayor of Daegu Metropolitan City, who is visiting the United States to attend President Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony, evaluated the political culture of the U.S. as fascinating.

On the 21st (Korean time), Mayor Hong posted on his social media account, "In Korea, when someone becomes president, their family members are prohibited from political involvement or vested interest interference and are monitored until the end of the term. However, in the U.S., both officially and unofficially, the president's family rises as power brokers of the administration and gains privileges to conduct various businesses," adding, "The U.S. is a country where such a political culture, which does not criticize but takes this for granted, has become normalized."

Mayor Hong said, "During the first term, Ivanka Trump, President Trump's daughter, was the key figure, but in the second term, it is said that Trump Jr., his son, is the power broker," and added, "Lobbyists registered with the U.S. Congress operate legally, and in the U.S., behind-the-scenes power brokers are stronger than official personnel." He continued, "Still, the U.S. is a country without accusations of state corruption," and said, "The political culture is completely different from ours. Still, watching how American society operates is truly fascinating."

Mayor Hong shared, "20,000 people were invited to the inauguration arena event, but when I went, I felt overwhelmed and gave up attending, returning to the hotel to watch the inauguration on a large screen," and said, "I also came to the Commander-in-Chief Ball, an inauguration dinner event mainly for security officials, but seeing the endless line even in this cold weather, I did not have the courage to attend. Americans are truly enthusiastic," expressing his impressions. He added, "Perhaps because only a small number out of hundreds of millions worldwide were invited, everyone seemed to have pride, and despite the cold weather, no one seemed to mind and all were just enjoying themselves."

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