Hong Joon-pyo Calls for Unity: Is South Korea Ready to Move Beyond Political Divisions?
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Posted message after party criticism over his support for Kim Boo-kyum
Kim Jang-gyeom: “Residents of Daegu want him to disappear like the wind”
Former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, who left the People Power Party after losing last year’s presidential primary, said on April 4, “South Korea must no longer live in an era dominated by partisan logic.”
He appears to have posted the message after some party members criticized him for publicly supporting Democratic Party candidate Kim Boo-kyum while he was serving as Daegu mayor.
On Facebook that day, Hong wrote, “The greed and self-interest that defined China’s Spring and Autumn and Warring States period resemble the state of contemporary South Korea.” He added, “A year ago I gave up my party membership and retired from active politics. I decided to spend the rest of my life serving the national interest. I will live freely, like the wind.”
He also said he now truly feels the meaning of the proverb 樹欲靜而風不止 — “A tree wishes to be still, but the wind will not stop.”
In response, Kim Jang-gyeom, a first-term proportional representative for the People Power Party, wrote on Facebook, “Don’t just say it; actually retire from politics, give up your ambitions, and vanish like the wind. That is what residents of Daegu want.”
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