Hong Joon-pyo, the mayor of Daegu, responded to the allegations concerning Myung Tae-kyun on the 2nd by stating, “At the very least, Hong Joon-pyo does not get swayed by such swindlers.” On this day, on his Facebook page, Mayor Hong wrote, “There’s an attempt to link everything to Myung Tae-kyun, but there won’t be anything connected to us.” He added, “I hope a thorough investigation is conducted.”
Regarding the claim by Mr. Myung’s wife that gifts were sent, he clarified, “Under my name, Choi ○○ (a former employee of Daegu’s Seoul office) sent gifts to Mr. Myung twice at his discretion,” and asserted, “There are no such swindlers on our gift list.”
Mayor Hong further explained about Choi, “He worked as a company employee in Changwon, got involved in politics, associated with Myung Tae-kyun, and became an aide to Congressman Kim Young-sun through Myung’s arrangement.” Hong mentioned, “After being recommended by our camp aide from Changwon, he was hired for Daegu’s Seoul office, but he was immediately dismissed after the Myung-related incident broke out.”
Hong also referred to Kang Hye-kyung, who is making revelations related to Mr. Myung, as a “co-conspirator in public opinion manipulation.” He emphasized, “This behavior of pretending to be a righteous person while disturbing the world with lies like a female Kim Dae-up is greatly misguided. During the presidential primary, weren’t Myung Tae-kyun and Kang Hye-kyung the co-conspirators manipulating public opinion?”
He continued, “Is it proper investigation for someone who should have been imprisoned just for that to pretend to be a righteous person?” expressing his discomfort by stating, “Do not associate me with the likes of Myung Tae-kyun. It’s unpleasant and annoying.”
In an additional post that day, Mayor Hong urged an investigation into the so-called close associate who allegedly commissioned a public opinion poll from Myung Tae-kyun’s group, saying, “Five years ago, during my independent candidacy, we never asked to have polls manipulated. This person (referred to as a close associate by Myung’s side) conducted the poll independently of our camp. Isn’t the reason he can’t be identified because he committed a fraud of borrowing 100 million won right after the last presidential election?”
Mayor Hong clarified, “He’s merely a younger schoolmate from my hometown, not someone with the financial capacity to handle all that money alone,” and criticized, “It’s disgraceful for those who committed not only manipulated polls but also borrowing frauds to act as if they were righteous people.” He called on the prosecution to “thoroughly investigate and severely punish these swindlers.”