older conservatives and whose daughter Park Geun-hye was recently impeached amidst allegations of corruption. Hong finished second among the five major candidates with 24% of the vote behind Moon Jae-in. 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 National Assembly election of Suseong B in Daegu on 15 April 2020. Return to People Power Party, second presidential bid (2021–present) 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 would go on to win the election for mayor of Daegu and begin his term on 1 July 2022. Political positions Corporate corruption Hong holds economically conservative views. He supports Korean conglomerates, also known as chaebols and wants to reduce the power of labor unions. When asked how he would respond to growing concerns around corrupt practices amongst chaebols, such as those that brought down former President Park Geun-hye'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