[5] Hong's predecessor, Kim Dong-yeon, also served as the head of OPC under previous administration before appointed as Moon's first finance minister.

[6] After the government and the ruling party led by Lee concluded not to lower the taxation threshold for "a large shareholder" from 1 billion won to 300 million won worth of stocks in a single company[7] upon strong opposition from the both sides of the political parties,[8] Hong submitted his resignation reasoning that "someone had to take responsibility on the debate that lasted for two months and on the current status of not lowering the threshold.

"[9][10] President Moon immediately rejected his resignation and reaffirmed him[11] citing that he is the right person to lead Korea's economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although Korea's debt-to-GDP ratio is relatively low compared to other developed countries, cumulative debt, according to Hong, is a burden to the future generations.

He also holds a master's degree in economics from University of Salford[21] via Korean government fund for its employees' tertiary education in foreign countries.