Former Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo [Yonhap]
Former Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo [Yonhap]

'Betrayed Yoon Suk Yeol who raised him for 20 years': Hong keeps up attacks on Han

'What are the conservative media cartels that blindly follow him thinking?'

Han leads next-leader polls as rivalry for conservative dominance heats up

Former Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo unleashed a fresh broadside against independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon on Friday, saying Han had "destroyed the conservative bloc twice" — once as "Moon Jae-in's hunting dog" and once by betraying Yoon Suk Yeol, who had nurtured him for 20 years. Hong widened his attack to include conservatives who support Han and some conservative media outlets.

In a Facebook post Friday, Hong said the reason "the conservative right does not accept President Lee Jae Myung is that he is a convicted criminal," then added that People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok refuses to accept Han "because Han committed the criminal act of covertly and treacherously undermining and scheming against a president from his own party."

Hong then trained his fire directly on Han. "For the same reasons, those two have become enemies of the conservative camp," he wrote. "Someone who once acted as Moon Jae-in's hunting dog and then betrayed Yoon Suk Yeol, who raised him for 20 years, has destroyed the conservative bloc twice — what on earth are those who follow him like lemmings thinking when they call themselves politicians?" He also turned on media organizations that back Han. "What are some of the conservative establishment media cartels that blindly follow him thinking as they put out newspapers and run broadcasts?" Hong wrote. He even invoked Dante's "Divine Comedy," noting that in the ninth and final circle of hell betrayal is the gravest sin, and again labeling Han's past conduct as betrayal.

Hong went on to say that "the country has ended up like this because of some ignorant conservatives who, even after being decimated twice, still have not come to their senses — and the country remains in this state because they still have not realized it."

The remarks came as Han, who left the People Power Party, continues to be mentioned as a leading conservative contender for the next presidential race. In a recent poll on presidential suitability, Han recorded 18.1 percent overall and 32.6 percent among PPP supporters. The same survey showed Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok at 15.2 percent, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon at 10.5 percent and PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok at 10.2 percent. The poll surveyed 1,010 adults nationwide Monday and Tuesday.


hong@heraldcorp.com