Hong Young-pyo Speaks Out on Money Envelope Allegation... Urges Song Young-gil to "Sincerely Seek Forgiveness"

On the 20th, Hong Young-pyo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, urged former party leader Song Young-gil to take responsible action regarding the money envelope incident at the party convention. Hong narrowly lost to Song, who was then a candidate, at the 2021 Democratic Party convention.

Through social media (SNS) on the same day, Hong stated regarding the allegations that Song's camp distributed money envelopes at the convention, "As a member of the Democratic Party, I shared a heavy sense of responsibility, and since the situation portrays me as a victim, I had to be especially cautious with my remarks. Even after the party leader's public apology, responsible measures by the party and the individuals involved have not been taken, so I want to express my thoughts," adding, "A responsible attitude from the parties involved is necessary."

Hong Young-pyo, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Photo by Yonhap News

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He continued, "We must sincerely ask for forgiveness from the public and party members and regain trust," emphasizing, "Without this, the Democratic Party cannot take a single step forward. The party must firmly reject sentimentalism and restore its broken morality. To cut off outdated, immoral, and illegal acts, a swift and responsible attitude from the parties involved is required."

Hong stressed, "The party must be reformed," and added, "Through innovation, we must offer new hope to the people, and democracy within the party must be properly upheld. We must do everything possible to rebuild morality and regain the public's trust."

He said, "It is time to sincerely apologize to the public and party members, reflect deeply, and start anew as a completely new Democratic Party," and declared, "I will take the lead in bringing the Democratic Party from abnormality to normality."

In the three-way race at the 2021 party convention, Hong placed second with 35.01%, narrowly behind Song Young-gil, who received 35.6%. Woo Won-shik, another Democratic Party member, came in third with 29.4%.

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