Hong Jun-pyo "Son deceived by acquaintance, sent thank-you text believing Myung Tae-gyun's claim... Why is it a problem?"

Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo has continued to deny allegations related to Mr. Myeong Tae-gyun, and after his son’s conversation with Myeong was reported, he explained that "my son was deceived by an acquaintance."

Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo is delivering a congratulatory speech at the 2nd Joint Chairpersons' Meeting of the 3rd Year of the 8th Civil Term of the Korea Association of Mayors, County Governors, and District Heads held on the 18th at Hotel Suseong Square. Photo by Daegu City

원본보기 아이콘

On the 19th, Mayor Hong posted on his social media (SNS), "My son sent two text messages to Myeong Tae-gyun because Choi, who was involved in politics under Myeong and is a high school classmate of my son, made one-sided claims through him, which my son believed to be true and expressed his gratitude." He added, "This information was confirmed after listening to today’s broadcast," and said, "I find it very strange that my son was deceived and sent a thank-you message for his father, and that this has become news. Because of this, my son and Choi are currently estranged."

He continued, "The polling request has nothing to do with me," explaining, "Someone close to me, who has been friendly with Myeong since my time as governor of Gyeongnam Province, requested the polling from an agency arranged by Myeong, which was less than half the price of other polling agencies, to check the election situation." He added, "This has been known since the early stages of the case and has already been explained, so there is nothing new. It was not a payment on my behalf but a direct payment made by one of my supporters with their own money," and further stated, "There was also a case where Myeong and his group borrowed 100 million won through a friendship-based fraud, and they are reportedly about to file a lawsuit to reclaim it."

Mayor Hong also said, "No matter how much they try to entangle me with a swindler, I am not someone who will be fooled by that. Check if my voice or my messages are on the 'Hwanggeum Phone' (Golden Phone)," adding, "To my recollection, there is only one instance. After the regime change, when they were boasting about Kim Geon-hee being so powerful, I found it distasteful and just said 'Do well' once." He further stated, "No matter how they try to connect me, Myeong and I are unrelated. I was merely a victim of manipulated polls fabricated by Myeong on behalf of the Yoon Seok-youl camp during the last presidential primary," emphasizing, "I have already filed multiple complaints against them. I will never forgive these people."

SBS reported on the previous afternoon the KakaoTalk messages exchanged between Mayor Hong and Myeong in the past. These messages were revealed during the prosecution’s forensic examination of Myeong’s 'Hwanggeum Phone.' According to the report, Hong’s son, Hong Mo, sent a local newspaper article on May 15, 2023, to Myeong, stating that "there will be no conflict between Mayor Hong and President Yoon," and asked him to "take a good look." Around the same time, he also offered Myeong tickets to a trot festival hosted by Daegu City, and a few days later, when Myeong expressed his thanks, Hong Mo replied, "Please let me know anytime if you need anything."

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.