Park Beom-gye "Suddenly Jessica Act? Han Dong-hoon Seems to Be Running for the General Election"

Democratic Party Lawmaker Park Beom-gye SBS Radio Interview
"Feels Like Trying to Finish One Thing Before Moving On"

Amid speculation that Han Dong-hoon, Minister of Justice, may run in next year's general election, Park Beom-gye, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, predicted that "he seems likely to run."

On the 26th, Park appeared on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' and said, "Suddenly the Jessica Act? It feels like he is trying to wrap something up before moving on."

Park Beom-gye, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

However, Park noted that due to the low approval ratings of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, even if Minister Han runs, the impact would not be significant. He said, "The public's criticism of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's economy and livelihood policies is very high, and that is actually the decisive cause of the drop in approval ratings," adding, "From that perspective, if he runs now, except for Gangnam, well..."

Park also said, "If he comes, all his past statements, actions, and various policies will be questioned," and added, "Considering the public's critical view of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, it is doubtful whether his candidacy would be explosive in such a situation."

Regarding the speculation about the candidacies of 'Jo·Chu·Song' (Jo Guk, Chu Mi-ae, Song Young-gil), Park took a cautious stance, saying there are "both expectations and concerns." He said, "These two are former party leaders, and former Minister Jo Guk has gone through various difficult ordeals," adding, "Political decisions should be made based on autonomy and responsibility from one's own perspective, but from the party's viewpoint, there are some hopeful perspectives as well as concerns."

He continued, "It is also an issue linked to how the electoral system will be changed," saying, "Currently, it is a mixed-member proportional representation system, but there are talks about a parallel system, and although the term 'satellite party' is not accurate, there are discussions about abolishing satellite parties, and also about allowing small parties to enter the National Assembly."