Hong Joon-pyo (; born 20 November 1953) is a South Korean retired

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...

who served as the mayor of Daegu from 2022 to 2025. He previously served as the governor of

South Gyeongsang Province South Gyeongsang Province (, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World Heritage Site Haeinsa, a Buddhist temple tha ...

, a member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

for five terms, and the party leader of the

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

Grand National Party The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Han ...

in 2011 and its successor incarnation the

Liberty Korea Party The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Hann ...

from 2017 to 2018. He was the presidential nominee of the Liberty Korea Party in the

2017 South Korean presidential election An early presidential election was held in South Korea on 9 May 2017. The elections were conducted in a single round, on a first-past-the-post basis. Originally scheduled for 20 December 2017, the election was pushed forward following the imp ...

and came in second place during the general election, losing to

Moon Jae-in Moon Jae-in (, ; born January 24, 1953) is a South Korean politician and former lawyer who served as the 12th president of South Korea from 2017 to 2022. Before his presidency, he served as the senior secretary for civil affairs and the Chief ...

. Hong ran as a candidate in the 2022 South Korean presidential election for the nomination of the conservative People Power Party and came in second place during the primaries, narrowly losing to Yoon Suk Yeol. Hong was elected Mayor of Daegu in 2022, but he resigned to launch his third campaign for the presidency in the 2025 South Korean presidential election. Although he advanced from the first round, Hong ultimately failed to win the party primary, subsequently announcing his retirement from politics.

Early life and education

He was born in Changnyeong,

, South Korea. Hong graduated from Yeungnam High School and received a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree from

Korea University Korea University (KU, ) is a Private university, private research university in Seoul, South Korea. Established in 1905 by Yi Yong-ik, Lee Yong-Ik, a prominent official of the Korean Empire, Korea University is among South Korea's oldest List of ...

. Due to being underweight, he was discharged from the army after only fourteen months of service.

Career

Entry into politics

In January 1996, Hong joined the New Korea Party. He was elected for the Songpa A constituency during the 1996 election and entered the National Assembly for the first time.

First tenure as party leader (2011)

Hong was formerly the chairperson of the

(which changed its name to the Saenuri Party in 2012 and again changed its name to the Liberty Korea Party in 2017). He stepped down as the chairperson on 9 December 2011 and was replaced by future President

Park Geun-hye Park Geun-hye (; ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 until Impeachment of Park Geun-hye, she was removed from office in 2017. Park was the first and to date only woman ...

Comments on Park Won-soon

On 20 October 2011, Hong criticized Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon's The Beautiful Foundation () 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.

Governor of South Gyeongsang Province (2012–2017)

Hong was first elected as Governor of

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 Park Chung Hee (; ; November14, 1917October26, 1979) was a South Korean politician and army officer who served as the third president of South Korea from 1962 after he seized power in the May 16 coup of 1961 until Assassination of Park Chung ...

, a former Korean president and dictator who is popular with older conservatives and whose daughter

was recently

impeached Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eu ...

amidst allegations of corruption. Hong finished second among the five major candidates with 24% of the vote behind

Second tenure as party leader (2017–2018)

Hong was elected as the leader of Liberty Korea Party following his loss in the presidential election. After leading the party to a massive loss in the 2018 local elections on 13 June 2018, Hong resigned as party leader on 14 June 2018.

Independent politician (2020–2021)

On 17 February 2020, the Liberty Korea Party dissolved and merged with several other parties to become the United Future Party. Hong left the United Future Party in March 2020 after party leaders decided not to give him a candidacy in any of the upcoming 2020 legislative elections. Running as an independent candidate, Hong won the

election of Suseong B in

Daegu Daegu (; ), formerly spelled Taegu and officially Daegu Metropolitan City (), is a city in southeastern South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; the fourth-largest List of provincial-level ci ...

on 15 April 2020.

2022 South Korean presidential election

On 24 June 2021, Hong rejoined the People Power Party (which had formerly been called the United Future Party until 2 September 2020) and signaled a presidential bid in the upcoming 2022 South Korean presidential election. On 29 June 2021, Hong Joon-pyo officially entered the 2022 presidential election. He placed 2nd in the final round of the primaries behind the winner Yoon Seok-yeol, winning 41.5 percent of the votes. On 26 April 2022, Hong resigned from the National Assembly after he was chosen as the People Power's nominee for the mayor of Daegu. He went on to win the election for mayor of Daegu and begin his term on 1 July 2022. Following the 2024 South Korean martial law crisis in December, Hong did not explicitly state his support for any side, but said he understood the "loyalty" of President Yoon Suk Yeol while describing his actions as reckless and "making a scene". Later that month, Hong said that he would run for president in the event of an early presidential election. In February 2025, Hong said that he would step down as mayor in the event that the

impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...

of Yoon Suk Yeol was upheld.

2025 South Korean presidential election

A day after the removal of Yoon Suk Yeol from office by the

Constitutional Court of Korea The Constitutional Court of Korea () is one of the apex courtsalong with the Supreme Court of Korea, Supreme Courtin Judiciary of South Korea, South Korea's judiciary that exercises constitutional review, seated in Jongno District, Jongno, ...

, Hong expressed his interest in a presidential bid, saying in a statement on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

: "I have been thoroughly preparing for this election, considering it the final mission of my 30-year political career. Starting next week, I will proceed step by step with the necessary procedures." Shortly before officially announcing his campaign for the 2025 South Korean presidential election, Hong stepped down as Daegu mayor. He officially declared his candidacy on 14 April. Although he advanced from the first round, he ultimately failed to make it to the runoff in the

primaries Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pri ...

held by the People Power Party. After his loss, Hong announced that he would retire from politics and leave the People Power party. Hong stated: "I am very thankful that I can graduate from my political life today honorably and cleanly thanks to the care shown to me by party members and the public over the last 30 years."

Political positions

Hong is famous for his

right-wing populism Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right populism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics with populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establis ...

, advocating for

social conservatism Social conservatism is a political philosophy and a variety of conservatism which places emphasis on Tradition#In political and religious discourse, traditional social structures over Cultural pluralism, social pluralism. Social conservatives ...

and hawkish approaches to diplomatic issues.

Corporate corruption

Hong holds economically conservative views. He supports Korean conglomerates, also known as ''

chaebol A chaebol ( , ; , ) is a large industrial South Korean conglomerate run and controlled by an individual or family. A chaebol often consists of multiple diversified affiliates, controlled by a person or group. Several dozen large South Kore ...

s'' and wants to reduce the power of trade unions. When asked how he would respond to growing concerns around corrupt practices amongst chaebols, such as those that brought down former President

's administration, he stated that he would reduce corruption by putting it through a "washing machine".

National security

Hong has supported maintaining a vigilant approach to national security, supporting the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) from the United States. He supports "armed peace." Hong has stated that he supports the nuclear armament of South Korea.

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

on his stances on homosexuality and remarked gay soldiers were a source of weakness in Korean military. Hong directed civil servants to obstruct the Daegu Queer Culture Festival in 2023 after attempts to halt the festival in court failed. Police intervened to allow the festival to proceed.

Death penalty

Hong supports the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

. In 2017, he said he would revive capital punishment if elected.

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hong, Joon-pyo 1954 births 21st-century mayors of places in South Korea Korea University alumni Presidency of Lee Myung-bak Right-wing populism in South Korea South Korean anti-communists Living people Governors of South Gyeongsang Province Discrimination against LGBTQ people in South Korea South Korean Protestants People from Changnyeong County Politicians from South Gyeongsang Province Members of the National Assembly (South Korea) Candidates for President of South Korea Liberty Korea Party politicians People Power Party (South Korea) politicians South Korean prosecutors