"Is Every Young Person an Lee Kang-in Fan?" Hong Joon-pyo Responds to Criticism of Lee Jun-seok

Hong Joon-pyo, the mayor of Daegu, who received harsh criticism from Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform New Party, saying "'Lee Kang-in's character director' was never assigned," has launched a counterattack.

On the 25th, a netizen wrote on the online communication platform 'Dream of Youth' run by Mayor Hong, in the Q&A section 'Hong Joon-pyo answers the concerns of youth,' "Seeing Lee Jun-seok criticize the mayor this time, I really think he is bad at politics." Mayor Hong replied, "Not all young people are fans of Lee Kang-in, but I guess I asked the young people who left to come back."

Photo by Younghan Heo younghan@

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On the 21st, in response to a netizen's request saying, "It is unfortunate to see the mayor becoming the vanguard of public opinion dividing players in various articles. Please stop criticizing player Lee Kang-in," Mayor Hong said, "Everyone's thoughts should be respected. Even if there are different opinions from mine, such criticism is inappropriate," and added, "I dislike people with such character."

So far, Mayor Hong has repeatedly criticized Lee Kang-in regarding the discord rumors within the national soccer team. Even after news came that Lee Kang-in apologized to player Son Heung-min, Mayor Hong did not stop his harsh words, saying, "Reconciliation is merely a mitigating circumstance. Where does that kind of mindset go?" In response, Lee Jun-seok sharply stated, "No one ever assigned Mayor Hong as 'Lee Kang-in's character director.'" He also lamented, "Every time I see scenes like this, I feel that the self-proclaimed conservative camp in our politics does not even have the minimal ideological standards of liberalism."

Regarding the national team, Lee Jun-seok said, "I feel grateful to see the most outstanding people in their respective fields representing the country and striving." He emphasized, "From the start, no one has the right to lecture, teach, or mock anyone else." He added, "As a citizen, I only hope they will show even better performances in the future. 'Maturity' is something each person should handle on their own."

[Photo by Son Heung-min, Instagram capture] [Image source=Yonhap News]

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Earlier, national soccer team player Lee Kang-in posted a second apology on social media on the 21st, about ten days after a conflict with team captain Son Heung-min surfaced on the 6th, and revealed that he went to London, UK, to apologize in person. On the same day, Son Heung-min posted a photo with Lee Kang-in, appealing, "Kang-in is going through a difficult time," and asking for "forgiveness with a generous heart."

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