Hong Joon-pyo: "The early Moon Jae-in administration, when Han Dong-hoon was the 'Golden Age,' was a period of state affairs manipulation..."

While he said he would understand if it were a criminal investigation, he criticized it, saying, "That was not a criminal investigation, but a frenzied political investigation carried out by the Moon Jae-in administration's hunting dogs, who imposed a political frame of state affairs manipulation." He added, "It was not about discovering the substantive truth, but a piece-meal political investigation where they set a goal and pieced together evidence to fit it."
Mayor Hong concluded by saying, "Some media outlets that praised him as the 'best swordsman in Joseon' were also part of that group at the time," and "They say a nation that forgets its history has no future. Let's wake up."