Mayor of Daegu Hong Jun-pyo, who mentioned that he might leave the party if Han Dong-hoon, the former emergency measures committee chairman of the People Power Party, becomes the party leader, explained about his recent controversial remarks, saying, “I am not afraid of debates.”
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, Hong, the mayor, posted on Facebook late on the 22nd, saying, “I will respond if anyone is deemed to have value in debating.”
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, Recently, Mayor Hong criticized former committee chairman Han as ‘the one who led us to hell,’ ‘I would rather change direction than kneel to him,’ and other comments. In particular, on the 20th, he sparked controversy over leaving the party by targeting former committee chairman Han and saying, “If a rookie becomes the party leader, this party will have no hope, and I might also decide my future.”
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, Within the party, there were criticisms such as “(Mayor Hong) suffered almost catastrophic damage in local elections during his tenure as the party leader, but would he swallow such ‘inspired’ nonsense,” (former senior member Kim Jae-won), “It is disgraceful to spread chili powder on juniors and act like that,” (Rep. Jo Hae-jin), “I hope Mayor Hong would reduce the remarks that bring turmoil to the party in consideration of the concern that many are worried about getting hurt” (Rep. Lee Cheol-gyu), and more.
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, In response, Mayor Hong said, “Many people say ‘ignore the concerns of getting hurt,’ but if you don’t counterarguments, it often becomes a fait accompli, so if possible, I try to overlook trivial matters and move on.” He continued, “Politics is not politics without opposition since most of the time, it is necessary to argue based on facts and not spread rumors like a champ or make strong statements like some politicians do.” He emphasized, “I enjoy debates, and if you are afraid of debates, you are not qualified to do politics,” showing his determination to continue debating with party members and outside officials on current issues in the future.
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