Hong Joon-pyo says 2021 primary was a rigged race … Yoon government should never have existed

Oct 13, 2025
Politics
Hong Joon-pyo says 2021 primary was a rigged race … Yoon government should never have existed

A Candid Facebook Firestorm

On October 26 Hong Joon-pyo took to Facebook to unleash a storm of criticism at his former party the People Power Party and President Yoon
He accused a covert alliance of Shincheonji and other religious groups of hijacking the 2021 primary with mass membership drives and ballot manipulation
The candid post was triggered by special prosecutor investigations into the October 2021 primary and the legitimacy of the Yoon administration
The message spread quickly online with thousands of comments on news portals and social channels

Behind the Rigging Allegations

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Hong pointed to erratic spikes in party membership just before voting deadlines and alleged that religious groups used coordinated campaigns to sway results
He also claimed that party insiders deployed polling experts to manipulate public opinion and that key figures had even brought in a former prosecutor to oversee a biased selection process
These allegations echo past controversies but gained new traction when prosecutors secured search warrants on party offices involved in the 2021 primary

Community Reaction in Korea

Naver readers and Tistory bloggers have been divided with roughly 60 percent expressing support and 40 percent calling the remarks political grandstanding
One popular blog hailed Hong for speaking truth to power while another criticized him for stirring division ahead of next election season
Comments ranged from question marks over the new probe to exclamations of relief that someone is finally demanding accountability
This lively debate highlights both the fervor of Korean political fandom and deep mistrust in party institutions

What Foreign Readers Should Know

Korean primaries can be fiercely contested events where regional loyalties and organized membership drives often shape outcomes more than popular polls
The influence of religious networks remains a sensitive and often hidden factor in politics
Understanding the role of groups such as Shincheonji and the Unification Church can shed light on why allegations of coercion resonate so strongly
These dynamics reveal how personal relationships and factional ties can override policy debates in South Korean elections

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