Hong Jun-pyo, former mayor of Daegu, continues his criticism following his departure from the People Power Party after the presidential primary. He remarked, “They don’t even realize they have become a burden to the public, yet they boast about being the People’s Power party targeting only the elderly.”
On the 16th, through his social media, Hong stated, “Once this presidential election is over, Korea’s traditional conservatism will need to overhaul the existing structure and reorganize.”
He recalled, “The happiest I was within this party (the People Power Party) was acting as a sniper during the DJ and Roh Moo-hyun administrations. I mistakenly thought that playing the role of a sniper was all there was to politics and that imagining what damage we could do to them each morning was my role. Those were the happiest times within the party. But whenever I returned home late after a hard day’s work, the ones lazing around were always occupying the main room.”
He continued, “I first realized the true nature of the party during the 2006 Seoul mayoral primary. It was then I understood that those who work and those who secure positions are separate people. Despite recognizing this characteristic of the party, I’ve silently endured this reality for 20 years.”
He criticized further, “The traditional conservatism of the party ended with Lee Hoi-chang’s retirement from politics. During that interim, pseudo-conservatives have gathered, misleading the public with ornate expressions, falsely claiming traditional conservatism. Ultimately, they have even transformed the party’s platform into policies resembling those of the left.”
Finally, he added, “Just as the Tory party, once a spokesperson for the British elite, declined and gave way to a newly emerging Conservative Party, the Korean conservative faction will not survive unless there is a transformative change.”