Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, urged on the 13th that some supporters of former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo should not be swayed by Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, after they declared their support for him.
Ahn noted in a post on Facebook that this was "a word of caution from a junior."
Ahn said, "Recently, I have heard stories that a change in political stance has been felt regarding the mayor ahead of the upcoming presidential election," and urged, "Do not be swayed by his sweet words."
He continued, "There are also reports that some supporters are backing this candidate, or that close aides of the mayor are joining the Lee Jae-myung campaign. You must firmly halt such trends."
Earlier, some supporters who helped former Mayor Hong during the People Power Party's primary declared their support for this candidate. The so-called 'Hong Joon-pyo's supporters' (support groups for former Mayor Hong) held a press conference at the Democratic Party's headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on this day, stating, "Regardless of ideology, thought, or faction, we will strive for this candidate's election for the economic re-rise of Korea and national unification."
However, representatives from former Mayor Hong's campaign camp stated that the press conference in support of this candidate was an individual action by some supporters.
Lee Jun-seok, the presidential candidate of the Reform Party, also met with reporters after visiting Kyungpook National University and said, "I communicated with lawmakers from the Hong side, and those who held the press conference were acting without representation. It was an incident."
He further extended a call to Lee Byeong-tae, an honorary professor at KAIST, who was ultimately not included in the Lee Jae-myung campaign. This candidate stated, "If you have the intention to contribute your knowledge and skills for the future generations of Korea, I plan to request once more."