Risk of Losing Momentum in Ruling and Opposition Party Council
Accelerating Efforts to Persuade Medical Sector
Focusing on Cost of Living and Marginalized Groups
Directly Preparing and Delivering Lunchboxes for Food-Insecure Children
This Chuseok holiday is expected to become a political test for Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the People Power Party, who launched the ruling-opposition-government consultation body. Although the possibility of launching the consultation body during the Chuseok holiday has decreased due to the medical community's opposition to the government's stance, if Leader Han succeeds in persuading them, his political standing is likely to rise. However, if the consultation body is not launched even after the Chuseok holiday, his leadership is expected to suffer a setback.
According to the People Power Party on the 14th, Leader Han plans to intensify efforts to persuade the medical community with the goal of launching the ruling-opposition-government consultation body as soon as possible. This is because the momentum is likely to fade the longer the medical community delays participation in the consultation body, which the ruling and opposition parties have barely agreed upon.
The ruling-opposition-government consultation body is considered a political gambit launched by Leader Han to secure the people's right to life and health. Since last month, when the third-party special prosecutor law proposed by Han during his bid for party leadership became a point of contention between the ruling and opposition parties, he has focused his political efforts on topics that resonate with all citizens, such as calling for medical staff to return to the field. To persuade residents who had left the frontlines of medical care for seven months, he held a private meeting with Park Dan, emergency committee chair of the Korean Intern Resident Association, on the 20th of last month. Subsequently, he appealed to medical staff to engage in dialogue, arguing that the increase in medical school admissions for the 2026 academic year should be postponed, which led to tensions with the government. Taking a step further, Leader Han proposed that the consultation body be launched before the Chuseok holiday to urgently discuss medical reform tasks.
Handonghun, the leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the party-government meeting held at the National Assembly on the 12th to improve regional and essential medical systems. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
However, the government has expressed that postponing the increase in medical school admissions for the 2025 academic year is impossible, and the Democratic Party of Korea has clearly stated that an organization representing the entire medical community must participate in the consultation body, drawing a clear line. Earlier, on the 12th, at a high-level ruling party-government meeting chaired by Leader Han, he expressed the view that "doctors are not the government's enemies" and suggested not to limit the agenda to issues such as postponing the 2025 medical school admissions increase, which the medical community demands. However, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo reportedly countered, saying, "If reforms are delayed, a greater price will soon have to be paid," and "The 2025 medical school admissions increase should not be on the agenda."
Eight medical organizations, including the Korean Association of Medical School Professors, the Emergency Committee of Medical School Professors Nationwide, and the Korean Medical Association's delegate council, discussed participation in the ruling-opposition-government consultation body on the 13th. While welcoming Leader Han's proposal, they expressed their intention not to participate, stating that "participation is premature at a time when there is no change in the government's attitude."
Aside from medical issues, Leader Han plans to actively address inflation and marginalized groups. Earlier, on the 12th, he held a Supreme Council meeting at the Nonghyup Logistics Center in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, to check the supply situation of Chuseok holiday goods and agricultural product prices. He particularly suggested fundamental rural measures, saying, "We need to review farmland regulations to protect farmers' property rights and promote regional development." On the 13th, Leader Han and the People Power Party leadership visited Seoul Station to offer their first holiday greetings and then moved to an institution related to children suffering from food insecurity in Seoul, where they personally prepared and delivered meal kit lunchboxes. While major political parties sent holiday gifts to important figures in various sectors during the Lunar New Year and Chuseok holidays, this time, the party decided to provide meal kit lunchboxes to children suffering from food insecurity with a budget of 50 million won under the name of party leader gift expenses. Leader Han explained the purpose, saying, "Children suffering from food insecurity find it harder during holidays because school meals are not provided during the holiday period."
A ruling party official said, "Although the opposition has brought up contentious issues such as the special prosecutor laws for Cha Sang-byeong and Kim Geon-hee again, Leader Han, as the leader of the ruling party, has a strong will to read public sentiment and focus on important issues related to people's livelihoods."
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