In the primary debate of the People Power Party’s presidential election held at the ASSA Art Hall in Gangseo-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 20th, candidate Hong Joon-pyo posed a question to candidate Han Dong-hoon, asking, “You’re tall, so why do you wear elevator shoes?”
Hong initiated the conversation by saying to Han, “I am a senior in politics. Don’t take any of my questions the wrong way. It’s a question young people are curious about.”
When Han responded, “You don’t seem like a young person,” Hong countered with, “I won’t ask trivial questions like whether you’ve got natural hair or if you’re wearing shapewear.” In response, Han stated, “You’re being childish.”
Hong then challenged Han by saying, “This election is about going after Lee Jae-myung. While you were serving as the Minister of Justice, you failed to legally detain Lee Jae-myung and faced a judicial defeat. As the interim leader, you experienced a general election loss. How do you plan to handle it this time?”
Han replied, “I managed to pass the arrest motion despite the opposition’s majority. Although we lost the general election, I was later elected party leader with 63% support, which serves as an assessment.”
Hong further pressed, “How do you plan to capture Lee Jae-myung this time? How will you shed the betrayer frame?”
Han responded, “I thwarted a martial law plan to not betray the people. Let me ask you in return: if you were in my position as party leader on December 3rd, would you have stopped the martial law? I believe the person who can candidly discuss martial law and overcome both former President Yoon Seok-yeol and candidate Lee Jae-myung in this election can win. I believe that person is me.”
Han emphasized, “To oppose martial law but to consider it a minor fault is, in a broad sense, to advocate for it. You either believe martial law is justified, or you believe it’s wrong and that the president who implemented it is unfit to perform his duties.”
In response, candidate Hong Joon-pyo stated, “(The state of emergency) did not result in any real damage. It was a two-hour episode,” adding that the president should take political responsibility and resign, suggesting that continuing to govern would be difficult.