Hong Joon-pyo says ruling party sows confusion, opposition trapped in martial law frame

Former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo said Sunday that "the country is truly in chaos and disarray."

In a Facebook post that day, Hong invoked a classical Chinese idiom rooted in the story of Guan Zhong, a prime minister of the state of Qi in ancient China who restored order to a turbulent realm. "There is a saying about bringing order to a chaotic world," Hong wrote, describing the phrase as drawn from the historical novel "Lieguozhi."

Hong then turned to the present day. "The ruling party is throwing the country into disorder with confused governance, and the opposition is in turmoil over internal strife — trapped in the frame of being a 'martial law party,'" Hong wrote.

"At a crossroads where the country should be stabilizing and advancing toward becoming a leading nation, can we really afford this level of confusion?" Hong added.

Earlier, on Oct. 18, Hong posted that "excessive greed always invites disaster," adding that "respecting each other's authority, even when you disagree, is the starting point of democracy."