Former Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo. [Lee Sang-seop]
Former Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo. [Lee Sang-seop]

Former Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo lashed out at JTBC over its coverage of calls for People Power Party leadership accountability, calling the broadcaster a "social evil no different from distortion YouTubers who warp public opinion."

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Hong said he had "stated a principle" and had not defended PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok, accusing the broadcaster of falsely claiming he had flip-flopped. "They are rookie political reporters who don't even understand the candidate nomination mechanism," he wrote.

His reference to a "bankrupt broadcaster" appeared to target JTBC, which recently entered corporate rehabilitation proceedings.

Hong argued that the party leadership had performed well under the circumstances. "For regional government head races under the leadership's jurisdiction, primaries were held or strategic nominations were made — going 12-4 in a 15-to-1 situation is a strong showing, and securing four National Assembly seats means the nominations were done right," he said.

He then argued that nominations for local government heads and local council members had been handled by provincial party chairs, Assembly members and constituency committee chairs, with the central party leadership only granting approval. "Despite a nationwide rout, not a single provincial party chair, Assembly member or constituency committee chair has taken responsibility," he said.

Hong said those responsible for poor results through bad nominations were "beyond shameless — they are brazen" for going after a leadership that had performed well. "They criticize the leadership that did well, yet why won't they take responsibility for the crushing defeats of the local government heads and council members they themselves nominated?" he said.

Hong also turned his fire on the media. "Political reporters should at least know enough before they write or go on air, but because they put out ignorant articles and broadcasts without understanding the basics, the public says they don't trust the press," he said. "If you keep this up, you will become a social evil no different from distortion YouTubers who warp public opinion," he added.

Hong had previously made remarks defending Jang, saying that although Jang "does a lot of things that earn him media hostility and is still inexperienced, he is holding on with tenacity, which is why the party is surviving even as it faces criticism for being an insurrection party."


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