Handonghun Starts Power Consolidation... Strategy to Expand Political Leadership and Influence

Discussion on Various Issues Including National Audit and Special Investigation on Kim Geon-hee
Participants... "The Idea Is to Unite Around the Party Leader"

Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the People Power Party, has begun consolidating his faction by having dinner with about 20 lawmakers considered to be close allies. This move is interpreted as a strategic effort to secure leadership in the political landscape and expand his influence within the party amid adverse conditions such as the upcoming National Assembly audit, the controversy surrounding First Lady Kim Keon-hee, and the special prosecutor investigation led by Chae Sang-byeong. Han’s absence from President Yoon’s farewell event for his Southeast Asia tour, followed by a dinner with his close allies on the same afternoon, also supports this interpretation.

According to ruling party sources on the 7th, 22 People Power Party lawmakers and officials, classified as Han’s close allies, held a dinner for about two and a half hours at a restaurant in Jongno-gu, Seoul, the previous afternoon to discuss the National Assembly audit and internal party issues. The group included 17 founding members of the camp that supported Han during the party convention, as well as six-term lawmaker Cho Kyung-tae and lawmakers Kim Geon and Kim Jae-seop. Among the non-parliamentary figures, Supreme Council member Kim Jong-hyuk also attended.

Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the People Power Party, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 7th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the same day, lawmaker Cho Kyung-tae appeared on KBS Radio and said, "We shared concerns that if Yongsan does not change, the public opinion and popular sentiment could further deteriorate." He added, "There are various upcoming elections and many issues the party must lead on, and we had many conversations about the fear that we might lose leadership in these areas." Lawmaker Park Jung-hoon also described the dinner atmosphere in a radio interview with CBS, saying, "We actively shared a sense of crisis. If things continue as they are, the party will truly self-destruct. Everyone there had this awareness."

However, the dinner attendees cautioned against overinterpretation, saying, "The view that this is Han’s factional consolidation or a signal of factional politics could cause party division." A senior multi-term lawmaker who attended the dinner told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "Yesterday’s dinner was about uniting around the party leader to do well, so calling it factional consolidation is inappropriate." Lawmaker Park also warned against escalating factional conflicts, saying, "We gain nothing by being labeled as the Han Dong-hoon faction."

Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, is heading to his car after finishing a dinner meeting at a restaurant in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 6th. [Image source=Yonhap News]