Hong Joon-pyo Denies Appointment as Senior Election Committee Chair of Kim Moon-soo's Camp

According to a report by News1, former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo directly denied the announcement made by the camp of Kim Moon-soo, the presidential candidate from the People Power Party, regarding his acceptance of the position of "Senior Election Committee Chair."

On the 9th, Hong stated on his Facebook, "I have already left the People Power Party and have declared that I will not be involved in this presidential election," adding, "I will leave for the United States tomorrow (10th) and will return after the election."

This contradicts the statement made by Kim Moon-soo's camp on the same day that "Today (9th), Candidate Kim appointed former Mayor Hong as the Senior Election Committee Chair," and it further claimed that "Former Mayor Hong said he would accept the position to support Candidate Kim’s election victory, changing his plan to leave for the U.S. on May 10."

Confusion in Kim Moon-soo's Camp Leads to Deletion of Announcement

Upon hearing Hong's denial, the Kim Moon-soo camp showed evident signs of confusion.

Kim Dae-sik, a People Power Party lawmaker who served as the Secretary General of Hong's presidential primary camp, confirmed, "Former Mayor Hong is leaving for the United States tomorrow," and the Hong camp also explained, "While Candidate Kim proposed the role of Senior Election Committee Chair, (former Mayor Hong) stated he would not accept it," adding, "He will proceed with his planned departure to the U.S. tomorrow."

Ultimately, when the primary party, former Mayor Hong, denied the announcement, Kim’s camp deleted the message from the group chat. They later clarified, "This afternoon, Candidate Kim spoke with former Mayor Hong and requested his acceptance of the Senior Election Committee Chair position, to which Hong provided a positive response." However, they acknowledged, "Given that former Mayor Hong subsequently made it clear he would not accept the position, it is appropriate to respect his wishes."

Hong Joon-pyo Plans to Go to the U.S. After Declaring Retirement from Politics

Former Mayor Hong Joon-pyo ran as a candidate in the People Power Party's primary for the presidential election on June 3 but was eliminated from the final two candidates on the 29th of last month.

Immediately after his elimination, he held a press conference to announce his retirement from politics, and the following day, April 30, he submitted his resignation from the People Power Party’s Seoul chapter.

Furthermore, on May 5, Hong announced, "I will visit the United States to plan the third act of my life," indicating his upcoming trip to the U.S. This incident appears to have arisen because Kim Moon-soo's camp failed to properly grasp Hong's intentions before hastily making the announcement.

This event has revealed internal communication issues within Kim Moon-soo's camp, raising concerns that it may disrupt the consolidation of support just ahead of the presidential election.

The Kim camp expressed to News1 that they were somewhat taken aback by the current situation.

Image Source: News1