Handonghun's Ambiguous Strategy on Special Prosecutor Law... Will the Ruling and Opposition Parliamentary Consultative Body Collapse Become a New Flashpoint?

No Mention of Pros and Cons on Korean Special Prosecutor Act
Pro-Korea Faction Calls It a De Facto Truce to Have a Cooling-Off Period for Choo Kyung-ho

Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, who has been put on the defensive due to controversy over the party members' bulletin board, is expected to maintain a strategically ambiguous stance on the 'Kim Geon-hee First Lady Special Prosecutor Act' and attempt to shift the situation. It is anticipated that he will resolve the party members' bulletin board issue through tension with the pro-Yoon (pro-Yoon Seok-yeol) faction. However, attention is focused on whether the tripartite consultative body between the ruling party, opposition, and government, which was launched by Han but collapsed after three weeks due to the medical community's declaration to suspend participation, will become a stumbling block for him.

At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 2nd, Han fiercely criticized the opposition party. Han said, "The Special Act for the Creation of Busan as a Global Hub City was jointly proposed by both ruling and opposition parties, and the Democratic Party has no grounds to oppose this livelihood bill," adding, "Political strife must stop in the face of people's livelihood." He continued, "The budget bill, which the Democratic Party passed unilaterally through the National Assembly Budget and Accounts Committee for the first time in history, aims to paralyze state affairs," and pointed out, "They kept the special activity expenses for lawmakers intact but reduced the special activity expenses for police security maintenance to zero."

Handonghun, the leader of the People Power Party, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 2nd. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Although Han directed his criticism at the opposition regarding the impeachment of the Board of Audit and Inspection chief and opposition to the revision of the Anti-Spy Act, he once again refrained from taking a clear position on the special prosecutor law. This contrasts with last month when he personally called each lawmaker in his party to urge them to vote against the second Kim First Lady Special Prosecutor Act. The special prosecutor law is scheduled for a vote on the 10th.

The pro-Han (pro-Han Dong-hoon) faction interpreted that a kind of 'ceasefire' has been reached, considering that Floor Leader Choo Kyung-ho said at the party meeting on the 28th of last month, "Let's have a cooling-off period." Shin Ji-ho, deputy head of strategy and planning for the People Power Party, said in a CBS radio interview that day, "This is not ongoing; we consider it settled for now," adding, "The proposal for a cooling-off period reflects the fact that this was a failed project by the pro-Yoon faction."

However, the tripartite consultative body between the ruling party, opposition, government, and medical community, which was launched to resolve conflicts in the medical sector, has entered a forced hiatus just 20 days after its launch, which is expected to become a new burden for Han. The consultative body has effectively stalled as the medical community declared suspension of participation due to unresolved differences between the government, ruling party, and medical sector over key issues such as the 2025 medical school admission quotas. It is known that the medical organizations solidified their withdrawal stance after Han publicly expressed strong support on the 26th of last month, at the party level, for establishing a national medical school in the Gyeongbuk region. Since Han initiated the consultative body, there is a possibility that responsibility will be attributed to him.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.