Jang Dong-hyeok Likely to Stay, In Yo-han Also Unlikely to Resign
If 4 out of 5 Elected Officials Resign, Emergency Committee Will Be Formed
Kwon Seong-dong New Floor Leader... Blocking Internal Conflicts
Even if the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol is passed, there is a prospect that the 'Han Dong-hoon leadership' system could be maintained for the time being. Although there are still calls to hold Representative Han accountable if the impeachment motion passes, it is said that Kwon Seong-dong, the new floor leader of the People Power Party, will work to prevent the resignation of the Supreme Council members and block internal conflicts.
According to political circles on the 14th, Floor Leader Kwon reportedly discouraged Supreme Council member In Yo-han, who is pro-Yoon (Yoon Seok-yeol), from resigning. In told a media outlet in an interview, "I thought I should take responsibility as a member of the leadership in the event of impeachment, but after listening to Floor Leader Kwon's explanation emphasizing party unity, I changed my mind."
According to the People Power Party's constitution and regulations, if four out of the five elected Supreme Council members resign, the Supreme Council is dissolved and the party switches to an emergency committee system. Currently, among the five elected Supreme Council members, three (Kim Jae-won, In Yo-han, Kim Min-jeon) are classified as pro-Yoon faction, and two (Jang Dong-hyuk, Jin Jong-oh) as pro-Han faction. If the three pro-Yoon members resign and one more member decides to resign, Representative Han would have to step down.
Earlier, Supreme Council member Jang said at a parliamentary meeting on the 7th, "If the impeachment motion passes, I will resign from the Supreme Council," but later said, "The situation has changed." If In also maintains his position as a Supreme Council member, it is unlikely that the emergency committee transition due to a chain resignation of Supreme Council members will occur.
This reflects Floor Leader Kwon's concern that factional conflicts between the pro-Yoon and pro-Han factions will intensify further after the impeachment passes. Some analyze that it could reach the level of a party split similar to the Park Geun-hye impeachment. In the case of Floor Leader Kwon, after the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, he left the party with the pro-impeachment faction to form the Bareun Party, then returned after the May 2017 presidential election. When Kwon emphasized during his floor leader election speech on the 12th, "More frightening than impeachment is division. I stand here to prevent division," it was in the same context.
However, if the impeachment motion passes, there are still many lawmakers who want to hold Representative Han accountable for saying, "Let's support the impeachment motion as the party line." Pro-Yoon senior lawmaker Kwon Young-se said to reporters the day before, regarding the expulsion or removal of President Yoon, "I oppose it. Even if we drift apart like this, we cannot escape." In a statement, Kwon criticized Representative Han, saying, "This is cowardly politics of 'sweet when swallowed, bitter when spat out' (gam-tan-go-to)," and added, "Especially leaders must act objectively and prudently, thoroughly excluding personal feelings."
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