Yoon Sanghyun: "Nullifying the Party's Opposition to Impeachment Invites Division"
Han Donghoon: "The Party's Identity Is Preventing Illegal Martial Law"
On June 2, just one day before the 21st presidential election, the People Power Party engaged in a heated debate over the leadership's plan to nullify the party's official stance opposing the impeachment of former President Yoon Sukyeol.
Yoon Sanghyun, co-chair of the People Power Party's election campaign committee, expressed his regret on Facebook regarding Kim Yongtae, chair of the party's emergency committee, who had announced the previous day that he would nullify the party's official opposition to the impeachment of former President Yoon Sukyeol.
Yoon stated, "Even if this is a desperate measure for election victory as the emergency committee chair just two days before the presidential election, we must not cross the line that defines the roots and identity of our party. Declaring 'nullification' now, based solely on the judgment of the emergency committee chair without any internal party discussion, is an act of self-denial that shakes the party's identity and invites confusion and division."
He added, "The moment we abandon our identity for the sake of the election, the very roots of our party will be shaken. If the roots are shaken, the tree will fall."
The pro-Han faction, including former People Power Party leader Han Donghoon, strongly objected.
Former leader Han stated on Facebook, "Today, just one day before the election, campaign committee chair Yoon Sanghyun claimed that the roots and identity of the People Power Party lie in opposing the impeachment of Yoon Sukyeol, who declared an illegal martial law. However, our party's identity is not about defending illegal martial law, but about preventing it. That is how it must be."
Yang Hyangja, co-chair of the People Power Party's election campaign committee, even called for Yoon's expulsion from the party. Yang criticized, "Claiming that supporting martial law and opposing impeachment are the roots of our party is nonsense and sophistry. If there are those who want to insist that former President Yoon Sukyeol's declaration of emergency martial law was justified, they should immediately leave for Pastor Jeon Kwanghoon's Liberty Unification Party."
Bae Hyunjin, another People Power Party lawmaker, also remarked, "It would probably be more helpful for both the party and candidate Kim Moonsoo if they joined the Liberty Unification Party."
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