Dongju Hong, the mayor of Daegu, criticized former People Power Party leader Dong-hoon Han’s comments on constitutional amendments, stating, “He’s making unnecessary noise after putting the country in disarray.” During his visit to National Assembly member Soo-young Park, who was protesting the appointment of constitutional court nominee Eun-hyuk Ma through a hunger strike, Hong expressed discontent with Han’s claims of being the right person to lead the amendment, suggesting the former party leader had harmed the party and lacked conscience.
Hong questioned proposals within the party for a shortened presidential term through constitutional amendment, asking, “Are we to elect a president for just three years during a state of political civil war?” He also referenced Ahn Cheol-soo, a fellow party member, who proposed a similar amendment during the impeachment election in 2017, questioning whether the public had supported such measures.
On the possibility of an early presidential election, Hong stated, “The outcome of impeachment trials is unknown until judged,” and accused the impeachment process against President Yoon Seok-yeol of being unjust and contradicting constitutional court procedures. He noted the finality of the impeachment process, emphasizing the lack of recourse if errors were made, urging constitutional judges to adhere to the law during impeachment proceedings.
Discussing calls to abolish early voting from some party members, Hong argued in favor of retaining early voting, emphasizing its role in increasing voter participation, and rejected the idea of its abolition, noting that countries like the United States conduct early voting up to a month before the election.
In solidarity with protesting representative Park, Hong argued that the appointment of constitutional court judges should be done by bipartisan consensus, which he claimed was not respected by the Democratic Party in recommending candidate Eun-hyuk Ma, thus failing to address their internal issues rightly.