Hong Joon-pyo


Hong Joon-pyo, also spelled as Hong Jun-pyo, is a South Korean politician and prosecutor who was the governor of South Gyeongsang Province. He was the presidential nominee of the Liberty Korea Party, known prior to the collapse of the Park Geun-hye administration as the Saenuri Party, in the 2017 South Korean presidential election. Often compared to the U.S. President Donald Trump, he has been nicknamed "Hong Trump" due to his aggressive campaigning style. He served as the Chairperson of the Liberty Korea Party from July 2017 to June 2018.

Early life and career

He was born in Changnyeong, South Gyeongsang Province. Hong graduated from Yeungnam High School and received his undergraduate degree in Public Administration from Korea University.

Political career

Hong is known to have strong conservative, right-wing populist characteristics.

Grand National/Saenuri Party

Hong was formerly the chairperson of the Grand National Party. He stepped down as the chairperson on 9 December 2011 and was replaced by future President Park Geun-hye.

Comments on Park Won-soon

On 20 October 2011, Hong criticized Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon's for sending money to left-wing citizen groups. Hong was known to have generated much criticism against Park Won-soon in regards to Park's possible allegation of extorting tax money for his oversea visits.

Comments on former Grand National Party

He considered to rename the Grand National Party to another name after Park Won-soon won the October 2011 election.

Liberty Korea Party

Governor of South Gyeongsang Province

Hong was first elected as Governor of South Gyeongsang Province in 2012, and re-elected in 2014.

2017 South Korean presidential election

Hong secured the nomination of the Liberty Korea Party. His campaign appealed to older, conservative voters with a platform describing Hong as a "strongman." Hong has stated he wanted to be a strong man similar to Park Chung-hee, a former Korean president and dictator who is popular with older conservatives and whose daughter Park Geun-hye was recently impeached amidst allegations of corruption.
Hong finished second among the five major candidates with 24% of the vote behind Moon Jae-in.

Party chairmanship

Hong was elected as the chairperson of the Liberty Korea Party following his loss in the presidential election.
Hong Joon-pyo in the 2020 general election, eligibility for a person, Suseong-gu, Daegu, Korea became a Member of Parliament as an independent candidate.

Political positions

Corporate corruption

Hong holds economically conservative views. He supports Korean conglomerates, also known as chaebols and wants to reduce the power of labor unions. When asked how he would respond to growing concerns around corrupt practices amongst chaebols, such as those that brought down former President Park Geun-hye's administration, he simply stated that he would reduce corruption by putting it through a "washing machine", without providing a concrete course of action.

National security

Hong has supported maintaining a vigilant approach to national security, supporting the deployment of the Terminal High altitude Area Defense System from the United States. He supports "armed peace."

Anti-LGBT stance

Hong has publicly indicated that he believes that AIDS and HIV are a result of homosexuality, in order to attract the support of conservative voters. In a televised presidential debate, Hong criticized Moon Jae-in on his stances on homosexuality and remarked gay soldiers were a source of weakness in Korean military.