Hong Joon-pyo, former mayor, reveals, "Yoon Seok-yeol's victory in the presidential primary was thanks to the organized membership of religious groups"

Former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo revealed that the victory of former President Yoon Seok-yeol in the 2021 presidential primary was due to the organized membership of religious groups such as Shincheonji and the Unification Church, while People's Power party member Kwon Seong-dong indicated legal action against this claim as false information.

On the 26th, Hong posted on his Facebook that there was 'membership from religious groups such as Shincheonji and the Unification Church' that contributed to Yoon Seok-yeol's victory in the 2021 People's Power presidential primary.

He explained, "The recent special prosecutor's investigation focusing on the October 2021 presidential primary seems to be aimed at questioning the legitimacy of the Yoon administration's launch," adding, "Public opinion at the time showed that I won by 10.27%, but I lost in the party vote and conceded the candidate position to Yoon."

In particular, Hong claimed, "Everyone who knows the situation understands that the background of Kwon Seong-dong, who was in charge as the overall head during Yoon's campaign, boasting of a significant victory in the party vote, was due to the membership of hundreds of thousands from religious groups like Shincheonji and the Unification Church," further criticizing, "If this is properly investigated, the Yoon administration was a regime that should never have been born."

In response, Kwon Seong-dong of the People's Power party strongly criticized Hong's remarks on his Facebook on the same day, calling them "a typical case of disseminating false information and a recurrence of Hong Joon-pyo's chronic condition of always finding the root cause in others."

Kwon countered, "I have never engaged in organized voting encouragement activities in collusion with specific religions during the primary period. The results of the primary were determined by fair party votes and public opinion polls, and the claim of interference by specific religious groups is a divisive delusion stemming from an inability to accept one's own deficiencies in losing."

Furthermore, Kwon warned, "I have been patient until now, but if false information continues to be disseminated, I will no longer tolerate it and will take legal action."

Image credit: Hong Joon-pyo, former mayor of Daegu / News1, Kwon Seong-dong, member of the People's Power party / News1