Latest news with #HongJoon-pyo
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Picture of S.Korean politician 'supporting rival' is doctored
"Mr. Hong Joon-pyo, I'm disappointed. Go ahead and live together with others," reads a Korean-language Facebook post shared on May 29, 2025. The phrase "together with others" is wordplay on the Democratic Party's Korean name "Deobureo Minjudang". The first word means "together with" while the second means "Democratic Party". Hong, a five-term lawmaker, ran for president in 2017 but lost to Democratic Party nominee Moon Jae-in. He made another bid in 2022, but Yoon was chosen instead as the presidential candidate at the People Power Party (PPP) primary. After resigning as mayor of southeastern Daegu city earlier this year for another run for the presidency, he was again defeated and quit the party, departing for Hawaii (archived link). The post features a screenshot from messaging app KakaoTalk that includes an image of Hong apparently wearing a white jacket printed with "Lee Jae-myung now" and "1" -- Lee's candidate number. "A photo showing Hong Joon-pyo in the United States wearing a campaign outfit for candidate Lee Jae-myung," an accompanying message reads. Text overlaid on the image reads: "This beast? A person?! A dog?" South Korea will hold a snap presidential election on June 3 triggered by Yoon's disastrous martial law declaration, with the two-day early voting period beginning five days prior (archived link). All major polls have placed Lee as the clear frontrunner in the race, with conservative ex-labour minister Kim Moon-soo of the PPP trailing far behind (archived here and here). The picture of Hong sporting a pro-Lee slogan circulated across platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, X and Threads. "The face of a human, but the heart of a beast. How can you be like this? Traitor to the conservatives. Quit politics," a misled user wrote in a comment. Another said: "Hong Joon-pyo, why are you so petty and sly. Good luck getting along with Lee Jae-myung." The image, however, is edited; Hong's jacket did not show a political message in the original photo. A reverse image search on Google revealed Hong posted the photo featuring him and his wife on Facebook on May 15 (archived link). He added that the picture was taken at the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii's Big Island. While in Hawaii, Hong has remained active on Facebook. At one point, he changed the colour of his tie in his profile picture to blue -- the symbolic colour of the Democratic Party -- before switching it back to the PPP's colour red (archived here and here). This prompted speculation he might switch sides and join the rival camp, but he later rejected such rumours and expressed support for Kim, according to local news reports (archived here and here). AFP has previously debunked misinformation surrounding the upcoming presidential election in South Korea.
AFP
30-05-2025
- Politics
- AFP
Picture of S.Korean politician 'supporting rival' is doctored
"Mr. Hong Joon-pyo, I'm disappointed. Go ahead and live together with others," reads a Korean-language Facebook post shared on May 29, 2025. The phrase "together with others" is wordplay on the Democratic Party's Korean name "Deobureo Minjudang". The first word means "together with" while the second means "Democratic Party". Hong, a five-term lawmaker, ran for president in 2017 but lost to Democratic Party nominee Moon Jae-in. He made another bid in 2022, but Yoon was chosen instead as the presidential candidate at the People Power Party (PPP) primary. After resigning as mayor of southeastern Daegu city earlier this year for another run for the presidency, he was again defeated and quit the party, departing for Hawaii (archived link). The post features a screenshot from messaging app KakaoTalk that includes an image of Hong apparently wearing a white jacket printed with "Lee Jae-myung now" and "1" -- Lee's candidate number. "A photo showing Hong Joon-pyo in the United States wearing a campaign outfit for candidate Lee Jae-myung," an accompanying message reads. Text overlaid on the image reads: "This beast? A person?! A dog?" Image Screenshot of the Facebook post taken May 30, 2025 South Korea will hold a snap presidential election on June 3 triggered by Yoon's disastrous martial law declaration, with the two-day early voting period beginning five days prior (archived link). All major polls have placed Lee as the clear frontrunner in the race, with conservative ex-labour minister Kim Moon-soo of the PPP trailing far behind (archived here and here). The picture of Hong sporting a pro-Lee slogan circulated across platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, X and Threads. "The face of a human, but the heart of a beast. How can you be like this? Traitor to the conservatives. Quit politics," a misled user wrote in a comment. Another said: "Hong Joon-pyo, why are you so petty and sly. Good luck getting along with Lee Jae-myung." The image, however, is edited; Hong's jacket did not show a political message in the original photo. A reverse image search on Google revealed Hong posted the photo featuring him and his wife on Facebook on May 15 (archived link). He added that the picture was taken at the summit of Mauna Kea on Hawaii's Big Island. Image Screenshot comparison of the image shared in false posts (L) and the original photo While in Hawaii, Hong has remained active on Facebook. At one point, he changed the colour of his tie in his profile picture to blue -- the symbolic colour of the Democratic Party -- before switching it back to the PPP's colour red (archived here and here). This prompted speculation he might switch sides and join the rival camp, but he later rejected such rumours and expressed support for Kim, according to local news reports (archived here and here). AFP has previously debunked misinformation surrounding the upcoming presidential election in South Korea.
Korea Herald
21-04-2025
- Business
- Korea Herald
Policy Watch: Hong Joon-pyo maps out vision for welfare transformation
Hong Joon-pyo, the recently resigned Daegu mayor and a presidential contender for the conservative People Power Party's nomination, has unveiled a welfare reform plan titled 'Welfare Transformation 100+1.' Framing it as a shift from cash handouts to future generation empowerment, Hong emphasized opportunity over cash benefits, particularly for the vulnerable. Central to Hong's plan is keeping welfare costs in line with economic growth. 'We'll set an appropriate welfare-to-GDP ratio so future generations aren't burdened and people can achieve economic independence,' he said. Key pledges include expanding child subsidies from age 8 to 15 and creating 2 million public jobs for seniors. The basic pension will be restructured around income security, alongside a 'half-price hospital' system for the aged and a 'one-on-one senior care' initiative for 1 million older people living alone.
Korea Herald
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Policy Watch: Hong Joon-pyo pledges to resume executions, rejects antidiscrimination law
Hong Joon-pyo, former Daegu mayor and a presidential contender in the conservative People Power Party's primary, pledged to resume executions under capital punishment for violent criminals if elected, as stated in a press release Friday. While South Korea maintains the death penalty system, it has not carried out an execution since 1997. Hong further vowed to root out corrupt politicians and what he called 'legal cartels' as part of efforts to restore the rule of law. The pledge is part of his '100+1 National Grand Reform for an Advanced Nation' plan, released Tuesday, with a focus on social, educational and cultural reform. In the plan, Hong also expressed opposition to the proposed antidiscrimination law and named low birth rates, abortion, divorce, sex crimes, LGBTQ+ and drugs as Korea's social problems to be solved, while criticizing the spread of radical feminism and political correctness as encroaching on "family-centered" community. He instead called for a return to traditional values through 'familism,' which he said would connect disintegrated society through restoring the role of the family and home. flylikekite@
Korea Herald
18-04-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Policy Watch: Hong Joon-pyo pledges to resume executions, rejects antidiscrimination law
Hong Joon-pyo, former Daegu mayor and a presidential contender in the conservative People Power Party's primary, pledged to resume executions under capital punishment for violent criminals if elected, as stated in a press release Friday. While South Korea maintains the death penalty system, it has not carried out an execution since 1997. Hong further vowed to root out corrupt politicians and what he called 'legal cartels' as part of efforts to restore the rule of law. The pledge is part of his '100+1 National Grand Reform for an Advanced Nation' plan, released Tuesday, with a focus on social, educational and cultural reform. In the plan, Hong also expressed opposition to the proposed antidiscrimination law and named low birth rates, abortion, divorce, sex crimes, LGBTQ+ and drugs as Korea's social problems to be solved, while criticizing the spread of radical feminism and political correctness as encroaching on "family-centered" community. He instead called for a return to traditional values through 'familism,' which he said would connect disintegrated society through restoring the role of the family and home.
