Handonghun Apologizes to Supporters Hurt by Impeachment, Resigns... Ongoing Turmoil in People Power Party

Handonghun "Party leaders and lawmakers stopped martial law to protect democracy"
Also to pro-Yoon faction "Misunderstanding of supporting martial law is a betrayal of the people and conservatives"
"The trial timer for Leader Lee Jaemyung keeps running without stopping"

Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, resigned from his position as party leader on the 16th, two days after the impeachment motion was passed, saying, "Martial law in the advanced country of South Korea in 2024?how angry and disappointed you must be. I am very sorry to our supporters who are heartbroken by the impeachment."

Han held a press conference at the National Assembly at 10:30 a.m. that day and said, "With the resignation of the Supreme Council members, the Supreme Council has collapsed, making it impossible to perform normal duties as party leader any longer." This resignation comes 146 days after he was elected as the 3rd leader of the People Power Party with 62.84% of the vote at the July 23 party convention.

He also bowed his head, saying, "I tried every possible way to find a better path for this country, not impeachment, but ultimately failed. It is all because I was lacking. I am sorry." Regarding blocking President Yoon's emergency martial law, he said, "On the night of December 3, our People Power Party leader and lawmakers stood at the forefront with the people to prevent an illegal martial law declared by the president from our party. We protected the constitution and democracy." He added, "I believe that is the true spirit of conservatism."

This is interpreted as a remark targeting pro-Yoon (pro-Yoon Seok-yeol) faction members who opposed President Yoon's impeachment motion and called for Han's resignation and withdrawal from the party. Han said, "Even if it was done by a president from our party, to be misunderstood as defending illegal martial law mobilizing the military is to betray this great country and its people who achieved both industrialization and democratization, the spirit of conservatism, and our party’s brilliant achievements." He also criticized the deployment of martial law troops to the election management committee and suspicions of election fraud raised by some in the ruling party, saying, "If we sympathize with election fraud conspiracy theorists or extremists like extreme YouTubers or are consumed by commercially produced fear, there will be no future for conservatism."

Addressing Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party and a leading presidential candidate, and the Democratic Party, he said, "Just because martial law was wrong does not justify the reckless and criminal acts of the Democratic Party and Lee Jae-myung." He emphasized, "The timer for Lee’s trial is still running. Not much time is left."

Yonhap News

Earlier, immediately after the impeachment motion was passed on the 14th, Han had indicated he would "continue to perform his duties." However, with all Supreme Council members, including lawmakers Jang Dong-hyuk and Jin Jong-oh, who were part of 'Team Han Dong-hoon,' resigning, and judging that directly appointing an emergency committee chairman would not help politically, he appears to have decided to step down.

Thus, the People Power Party will face its fifth emergency committee since the launch of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. Lee Heon-seung, who already serves as the party’s national committee chairman, also declared the day before that he would proceed with the appointment process for the emergency committee chairman. This is interpreted as a move to manage the party and nominate a candidate without further delay, as the opposition party has begun preparing for the possibility of an early presidential election. The People Power Party will hold a party members’ meeting at the National Assembly at 3 p.m. to discuss internal recovery measures and the appointment of an emergency committee chairman. Potential candidates for the new emergency committee chairman include former Saenuri Party leader Kim Moo-sung, lawmakers Kwon Young-se, Na Kyung-won, former Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong, and lawmaker Kim Ki-hyun. Before the members’ meeting, senior lawmakers with four terms will hold a meeting at 11 a.m. to discuss recovery plans.

Although the transition to an emergency committee system is accelerating, internal strife within the People Power Party is expected to continue. The pro-Yoon faction, which insisted on rejecting the impeachment motion as the party line, and mainstream forces including Daegu-Gyeongbuk (TK) and senior lawmakers are demanding that Han and lawmakers who voted in favor of impeachment resign from the party. There are voices calling for at least 12 lawmakers who voted for impeachment to be expelled from the party, even if the constitutional amendment blocking line (100 members) collapses. Immediately after the impeachment motion passed on the 14th, at a party members’ meeting, lawmaker Kim Ye-ji, who voted for both the first impeachment motion (on the 7th) and the second, was asked to leave the party. Kim reportedly opposed this by requesting an ethics committee hearing for expulsion. Since Kim is a proportional representation lawmaker, leaving the party would mean losing her seat, but expulsion would allow her to retain it.

On the other hand, some pro-Han faction members and non-parliamentary figures have dismissed these remarks as a "people’s trial." Shin Ji-ho, deputy head of organization, said on MBC Radio that morning, "It’s a people’s trial, a ‘Gaeddal totalitarianism’ style. Simply framing it as betrayal goes against the spirit of the constitution and the National Assembly Act." He criticized, "The president made the mistake, but the responsibility is being pinned on the party leader." Lee Jong-cheol, head of the People Power Party’s Seongbuk-gu (Gap) district committee, posted on his SNS, "People Power Party lawmakers should refrain from criticizing Leader Han. He should not be humiliated." He added, "Do you not realize that Han Dong-hoon’s actions on the day of emergency martial law saved conservatism? Do you not know that thanks to the leadership Han has shown over the past two weeks, there is still a faint hope for conservatism to stand again?"

Some voices are also calling for restraint from remarks that cause confusion in order to help the party recover. Yoon Sang-hyun, who has strongly opposed the impeachment motion and measures to expel or dismiss President Yoon from the party, wrote on SNS that day, "We all should reflect on being accomplices to the impeachment since we failed to stop it, but stigmatizing and branding those who voted for impeachment as accomplices with a scarlet letter contradicts the conservative values we uphold." He urged restraint, saying, "Just as we cannot erase President Yoon, the lawmakers who supported impeachment are comrades we cannot erase from our hearts."

Handonghun, the leader of the People Power Party, is meeting supporters after finishing a resignation press conference at the National Assembly on the morning of the 16th. Photo by Choi Youngchan