'General Election Risk' Party-Government Conflict... Han Dong-hoon "No Change in Position" Direct Confrontation (Comprehensive)

"Lee Jong-seop and Hwang Sang-mu" Related "Must Be Sensitive to Public Sentiment"
Lee Cheol-gyu Responds to Disappointment Over Proportional Representation Nomination
"It's Just a Strange Framing Attempt"

Han Dong-hoon, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, stated on the 19th that his position remains "unchanged" regarding the 'Return of Ambassador Lee Jong-seop from Australia' and 'the status of Hwang Sang-moo, Senior Secretary for Civil Society at the Presidential Office.' He also dismissed the controversy over the proportional representation nominations for the People’s Future Party that surfaced the previous day as a 'system nomination.' However, the recent conflict between the party and the government is showing signs of escalating into a risk for the general election. With only 22 days left until the April 10 general election, the reignition of party-government conflicts raises concerns about an inevitable decline in party approval ratings.

At a Central Election Committee launch ceremony and nomination candidate meeting held at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building that day, Chairman Han reiterated his stance to reporters, saying, "I expressed my view that we need to be sensitive to public sentiment ahead of this critical election that will determine the nation's fate." He explained, "Because the public is paying more attention to this issue than other topics before the general election due to the exhausting political strife, I stated the position that this needs to be resolved."

Handonghun, the General Election Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the 22nd National Assembly election central election committee and the candidate nomination meeting held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 19th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Earlier, Chairman Han had mentioned the immediate return of Ambassador Lee if summoned by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials and the voluntary resignation of Senior Secretary Hwang. Although the Presidential Office expressed opposition to Chairman Han’s remarks, Han urged the Presidential Office to clarify its position.

Chairman Han’s response reflects his view that this issue is negatively affecting public sentiment in the metropolitan area and among moderate voters. Even figures classified as pro-Yoon faction expressed a sense of crisis and demanded a decision from the Presidential Office that day. Kim Kyung-jin, former People Power Party lawmaker running in Dongdaemun-eul, Seoul, said, "(The local public sentiment) is not good." He added, "If this is not accepted, the Presidential Office will lose much of its administrative momentum," expressing concern. Jeong Jin-seok, People Power Party lawmaker (Gongju, Buyeo, Cheongyang, Chungnam), also told reporters, "A do-or-die battle is underway," and said, "Everyone must take this very seriously."

Han Dong-hoon Responds to Pro-Yoon Faction’s Criticism: "Nominations Follow the System"

The controversy over proportional representation nominations, which has unfolded as a proxy battle in the party-government conflict, was initiated by Lee Cheol-gyu, head of the Talent Recruitment Committee and a member of the pro-Yoon (pro-Yoon Seok-yeol) faction. Lee criticized what he called Chairman Han’s 'self-interested nominations,' stating, "The party’s long-standing tradition of not favoring proportional representation candidates consecutively has been broken, and none of the party secretariat officials who have devoted themselves to the party were included in the winning list." He continued, "Two emergency committee members were included in the proportional representation list, and two relatively unknown former public officials were placed in winning positions, which has caused great disappointment among the party officials who have handled all the tough tasks." Lee appeared to be targeting Kim Ye-ji, a People’s Future Party lawmaker who switched party affiliation to People Power Party (number 15), and Han Ji-a, an associate professor at Eulji University College of Medicine and a People Power Party emergency committee member (number 11). The two unfamiliar public officials are interpreted to be Kang Se-won, former administrative officer at the Legal Secretary’s Office (number 13), and Lee Si-woo, former secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office (number 17).

Handonghun, the General Election Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, and the general election candidates are applauding at the Central Election Committee Launching Ceremony and Nominee Conference for the 22nd National Assembly Election held on the 19th at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Chairman Han actively refuted these claims. He emphasized, "Among the 254 district candidates and the proportional representation list, there is not a single person I recommended," adding, "No one entered because of my personal connections." He criticized, "Calling it a rigged nomination just because the people you wanted or recommended were not selected is a very strange framing." While acknowledging that there could be noise in the limited proportional representation nominations, he made it clear that the nominations were "system-based." He said, "There was no personal consideration involved."

On the same day, candidates from the People Power Party running in Honam raised the so-called 'Honam neglect theory.' They questioned the proportional representation candidate selection and threatened to resign if no readjustment was made. In response, Chairman Han said, "We appointed many diverse people from Honam, including emergency committee members Park Eun-sik, Kim Kyung-yul, and Han Ji-a," adding, "From what I briefly saw, the proportional representation list includes a significant number of Honam-origin individuals." He continued, "We tried to consider women and younger generations who were lacking in district nominations," and said, "I was not involved in every detail."

As signs of intensified internal conflict emerged, senior lawmakers emphasized the 'one team' message. People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong urged on his Facebook, "It is natural to have various opinions and positions within the party," adding, "There may be small differences, but those differences will not shake our will to win," and called for calm. Lawmaker Seo Byung-soo also told reporters that day, "There may be mistakes and shortcomings in the nomination process in many ways," and said, "It is important that we quickly resolve those issues."