Handonghun, "I feel like I got hit after touching the boss's rice bowl"

Han Dong-hoon Refuses Resignation Demand... Party and Presidential Office in Direct Clash
Kim Geon-hee's Risk and Sacheon Nomination Controversy
Han: "Will Maintain Position Until After the General Election"

The ruling party plunged into chaos over the so-called 'Kim Geon-hee risk,' including the controversy surrounding First Lady Kim Geon-hee's receipt of luxury handbags, and the nomination issues for the April 10 general election. The Presidential Office demanded the resignation of Han Dong-hoon, the Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, but Han refused on the 22nd, leading to a direct confrontation. Voices are growing that Han will eventually find it difficult to hold out in this 'leader clash.'

Handonghun, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is arriving at the National Assembly on the morning of the 22nd. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 22nd, former Blue House Chief of Staff Lim Jong-seok likened the discord between the Presidential Office and Chairman Han to a scene from 'The Animal Kingdom' on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show.' Lim said, "It seems like a scene from The Animal Kingdom, a fight between leaders," adding, "Han put his hand slightly on the leader's food bowl before he was fully prepared, and then got hit."

Lim further explained, "Han has become unable to endure it," and said, "For Han to hold on, he would have to say, 'I'll cut off people like Kim Kyung-yul and never talk about Dior bags or anything related to First Lady Kim Geon-hee again,' and kneel down, but that would be politically equivalent to death."

Former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won also appeared on BBS's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal' that day, saying, "Han will have no choice but to step down," and added, "Han became the Emergency Response Committee Chairman after receiving two orders from President Yoon Seok-youl: 'Under no circumstances will there be a special investigation into Kim Geon-hee,' and 'Accept all nominations from the core power group.' However, after actually entering politics, Han must have realized that politics is not about orders." Park added, "The president is not someone who gives orders. So, although Han resists by saying he will do what he must, ultimately, he will not be able to endure it."

The Presidential Office reportedly expressed regret to Chairman Han and demanded his resignation the day before regarding the recent strategic nomination of Kim Kyung-yul to Mapo-eul in Seoul. Internally, it is interpreted that the Presidential Office showed considerable resistance to Han's remark that there were "concerns from the people's perspective" about the First Lady's luxury handbag allegations.

On the same day, before the Emergency Response Committee meeting at the National Assembly, Chairman Han told reporters that he understood his term would continue until after the general election and reiterated his intention to fulfill his role. Regarding views that trust between the party and government had broken down, he responded, "There may be various perspectives, but the party handles party affairs, and the government handles government affairs to serve the people." On the 'Kim Geon-hee risk,' which is cited as a source of party-government conflict, he said, "My position has never changed from the beginning."

Regarding the situation after Chairman Han's resistance, Yoon Hee-seok, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, said on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "According to the party constitution and regulations, there are no provisions regarding emergency response committee members during the dissolution of the formal representative system and the supreme council system, only terms of office." He pointed out, "The Emergency Response Committee Chairman must be appointed by one of the three: the acting party leader or acting party representative. If a vacancy occurs, there is a problem in appointing a successor Emergency Response Committee Chairman."

Meanwhile, President Yoon decided not to attend the fifth 'Livelihood Discussion with the People' scheduled for 10 a.m. that day. The Presidential Office announced about 30 minutes before the event that President Yoon had no public schedule. Political circles interpret the sudden absence as a sign that the conflict between the Presidential Office and Chairman Han over Han's position has reached its peak.