Han Donghoon: "Forces Calling to Protect Yoon Are Far-Right... People Power Party Is on the Road to Ruin"

"Freedom of expression is not a free pass for the far-right"
Meets with Ahn Cheolsoo and Yoo Seungmin, building an anti-far-right alliance

Han Donghoon, former leader of the People Power Party, drew a clear line by stating, "Even at this very moment, when a president who imposed an illegal martial law has been removed from office, lost the presidential election, and the party's approval rating has hit a historic low in the single digits, those who incite slogans such as 'Protect Yoon Sukyeol' and 'Expose election fraud' are unmistakably far-right." On the 20th, Han posted on his social networking service (SNS), "We must prevent the People Power Party from becoming a far-right party," making his stance clear.

Hanjong Hoon, former leader of the People Power Party. Photo by Dongju Yoon

Han continued, "In a pluralistic society, extremists can exist, and their mere existence is not the problem. However, if extremists come to dominate mainstream politics, the community collapses and the country fails." He added, "Freedom of expression is not a free pass for far-right, hate, or violent incitement. Freedom of expression is a weapon to defend democracy, not a weapon to destroy it."

He went on to say, "After the presidential election defeat, our party has been walking a path contrary to the expectations of the people and party members. There has been unconditional resistance to reform and a surge in blind calls for unity. Ultimately, forces inciting 'Yoon Again' and 'election fraud conspiracy theories' have declared their intention to take over our party." He argued, "Some senior figures or those seeking party leadership are shamelessly aligning themselves with the far-right, claiming 'What's the problem?' and openly taking up far-right positions."

"We must stop the far-right transformation of the People Power Party"... Han Donghoon meets with Yoo Seungmin and Ahn Cheolsoo

In particular, Han pointed out, "Jeon Hangil, who joined the People Power Party, asked at a rally calling for the release of former president Yoon Sukyeol, 'Is the owner of the conservative movement myself or Han Donghoon?' The very absurdity of the question, 'Which of us is the owner?' reveals the essence of the far-right. This is because one of the core traits of the far-right is anti-intellectualism, which treats the people not as owners but as tools, injecting distorted and extreme ideas to incite them."

Former Representative Han Donghoon and Assemblyman Ahn Cheolsoo. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

He further emphasized, "All politicians, myself included, are merely tools of the people and can never be their masters. Some may ask if our party can fall any further, but the path toward becoming a far-right party is truly the road to ruin. The traditional public party, the People Power Party, would become a cult party, ridiculed by the sensible majority and shrinking like a white dwarf."

In conclusion, Han appealed, "How can a far-right cult party keep the Lee Jaemyung administration in check? If things continue as they are, conservative politics will completely collapse, and the Democratic Party may occupy a dominant position similar to Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, resulting in a 1.5-party system. If that happens, conservatives will never be able to regain power, so the People Power Party must not go down the path of becoming a far-right party."

Han Donghoon has also held a series of meetings with former lawmaker Yoo Seungmin and Assemblyman Ahn Cheolsoo in an effort to prevent the People Power Party from shifting further to the right. On the 20th, it was reported that Han and Yoo shared concerns about the party's rightward drift during a recent meeting, which was arranged at Han's request. It is also known that Han met with Ahn Cheolsoo the previous day to discuss the same issue. Both Yoo and Ahn are regarded as leading pro-impeachment figures within the party. Concerns about the party's rightward shift have grown after it became known that Jeon Hangil, who led rallies opposing the impeachment of former president Yoon Sukyeol, had joined the People Power Party. Han Donghoon appears to be taking steps to put the brakes on this trend.