Hong Joon-pyo, former mayor of Daegu, criticized the Chosun Ilbo after it urged People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok to resign, saying the times have changed.
In a Facebook post on the 22nd, Hong said he had read a column by what he called a conservative media outlet calling for Jang to step down, adding that it contained “many correct points.”
Chosun Ilbo ran a column titled “Chairman Jang Dong-hyeok, Now Is the Right Time to Step Down.” Hong responded by asking who was responsible for the collapse of South Korea’s conservative camp and who had helped elevate and create the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
He also asked who, under the Yoon administration, had encouraged Han Dong-hoon by saying he needed to differentiate himself from Yoon to become the next leader, adding that the Yoon administration was not ruined by conflict with Han.
Hong accused those forces of manipulating the conservative camp with the arrogance that they could both install and bring down an administration, and said they were now trying to remove Jang without offering an alternative while bringing back a “immature narcissist” they had supported, which he said would again damage the conservative camp.
He also suggested they might be trying to elevate Oh Se-hoon again, as he said happened during the June 2006 local elections if Oh loses the Seoul mayoral race. Addressing conservative media, Hong said they may once have “pulled the strings” in Korean society, but the era and media environment have changed.
He said he hoped they would contribute to the country’s future, adding that it was no longer “your era,” but an era for all citizens.
Hong previously declared he was cutting ties with Chosun Ilbo.
During his 2020 run in Daegu’s Suseong-gu-eul district, Hong criticized Chosun Ilbo coverage that was critical of him, saying he was angered by “false and fabricated” reporting. He questioned whether the paper’s editorial policy was to demand that the public accept “schemes” by a small group of opposition vested interests, and said he would stop reading Chosun Ilbo after 40 years as a subscriber.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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