 He is considered a member of the party's pro–Roh Moo-hyun faction.Hong attracted attention in July 2013 as a spokesman for the Minjoo Party's predecessor, the Democratic Party, when he described President Park Geun-hye as a "gwitae" (; 鬼胎), literally a "baby born to a ghost" or "ghost fetus", an uncommon term that has been applied in an abstract sense to Japanese militarism.A presidential spokesman stated that the label was "verbal abuse and a slur" and questioned Hong's "qualification as a lawmaker".