President Yoon Suk-yeol and Mayor Hong Joon-pyo are conversing at the nationwide meeting of the 2023 Honest Living Movement held at Daegu North-gu Daegu EXCO on November 7, 2023. / Photo=President’s Office Photo Team.
Former People Power Party Supreme Council Member Kim Byung-min criticized Mayor Hong Joon-pyo for embracing President Yoon Suk-yeol as a ‘real man,’ saying, “Although it may appear that he is endorsing the president on the surface, when you delve deeper, it ultimately diminishes the president’s image.”
Kim, who appeared on CBS Radio’s ‘Park Jae-hong’s Han Pan Seung Bu’ on the night of the 15th, expressed his belief that “Mayor Hong Joon-pyo seems to really dislike President Yoon Suk-yeol.”
He pointed out that Mayor Hong’s remarks serve as a basis for opposition criticism that “prosecutorial appointments are aimed at saving the president,” and criticized him for turning it into an unconditional fact by stating, “No one is claiming that prosecutorial appointments were made to cover up matters related to his wife, yet Mayor Hong has turned it into an absolute truth.”
He further criticized, “Recently, Mayor Hong wrote a critical post about Chairman Han Dong-hoon, but upon closer inspection, it was based on criticism of President Yoon Suk-yeol. I am very curious to know how long Mayor Hong will continue his activities on social media.”
Mayor Hong is mentioned to have posted on his Facebook on the 10th, saying, “President Yoon is reluctantly being accepted and recognized, but Han Dong-hoon is difficult to forgive.”
Mayor Hong, who is pressuring President Yoon, referring to him as the ‘Kim Gun-hee special prosecutor’, defended the president by stating, “Can someone who can’t even protect his own woman protect the lives and property of 50 million citizens? That’s not invincible but at least the duty of a real man.”
He emphasized, “Even if you face criticism, act like a man inside,” and criticized, “Some people can waste tens of billions of national treasury without punishment, asking for a presidential exclusive plane and even getting to ride in luxury without any consequences.”
His remarks interpreting the replacement of the Seoul Central District Prosecutor who commands the investigation into the suspicion of luxury handbags of Kim Gun-hee and alleged stock manipulation of Deutsche Motors as an attempt to shield President Yoon drew criticism from the Democratic Party.