Han Donghoon Holds Talk Concert on the 8th, Signaling Political Ambition
Park Jie-won: "What Matters Is Turning It Into a Political Force, Not the Crowd Size"
Pro-Han Lawmaker Yoo Yongwon: "He Is Likely to Decide on Running After Considering the Var
Various interpretations are emerging in political circles regarding the crowds that gathered at the talk concert held last weekend by Han Donghoon, former leader of the People Power Party.
Han Donghoon, former leader of the People Power Party, raises his fist at a talk concert held on the 8th at Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium in Songpa-gu, Seoul. Yonhap News
Han Donghoon draws 15,000 people: "Give up the hope that I'll fizzle out on my own"
On the 8th, Han held a talk concert at Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium in Seoul and drew about 15,000 supporters. Earlier, on the morning of the 29th of last month, the leadership of the People Power Party approved, as originally proposed, the Central Ethics Committee's decision to expel him, the party's highest level of disciplinary action, citing the so-called "party member bulletin board opinion manipulation" by his family members. As a result, Han was ultimately expelled from the party.
At the event, he said, "From what I hear, (my family), in an attempt to defend me, posted dozens of links a day to editorials in mainstream media criticizing former President Yoon Suk Yeol and Kim Keonhee for their wrongdoings. I did not know about it at the time, and only found out after this attack began," adding, "If I had known in advance, I would have asked my family not to do that." He continued, "I have stood proudly before you even after being subjected to disgraceful treatment in politics and being expelled," and stressed, "Those who expect that I will quit because I will simply fizzle out on my own should abandon that expectation."
"He is a politician, not an idol" vs. "A declaration that he wants to be a leader"
Commenting on this, Park Jie-won, lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea, said in an interview on SBS Radio's "Kim Tae-hyun's News Show" on the 9th, "Former leader Han is a politician, not BTS," and added, "If many people gathered at the concert, whether it was 10,000 or 15,000, the issue is not the number itself but whether it translates into political organization." He went on, "He is showing off that 'I can also draw this many fans' by holding a concert, but that is not it," and criticized, "He is sounding out Yoon Suk Yeol, sounding out the public, sounding out Jang Donghyuk, and sounding out the people who gathered at the concert; this is not acceptable."
On the same day, Democratic Party lawmaker Han Minsoo said in an interview on MBC's "News Desk Plus," "(Former leader Han) looks to be in a good mood. He looks pleased, but so what? So what comes next, what is he going to do after that?" He continued, "He is not a singer, so is he just going to go on a nationwide concert tour? Is he going to keep doing concerts, going to Jeju, then Gwangju, then Busan?" He added, "He needs to think about his future political path," and said, "Whether he runs for office, or finds a way to effectively consolidate his power to prepare for the period after the June 3 local elections, he needs to do something, but there seem to be many obstacles."
Attention is focused on the political moves of Han Donghoon, former leader of the People Power Party. Yonhap News
By contrast, Han Jia, a People Power Party lawmaker from the pro-Han camp, interpreted it as follows: "Through the concert, he showed his desire 'to become a national leader who can expand the national interest,'" adding, "It had a declaratory meaning." In the "News Desk Plus" interview, Han said, "We need to show an expansion of our base so that people who can make the opposition healthy and reestablish conservative values can come together," and explained, "What former leader Han said about 'our needing to move toward the people for the sake of the national interest' signifies a very important new beginning."
Yoo Yongwon, another People Power Party lawmaker from the pro-Han camp who attended the concert, also said in an interview on Channel A's YouTube program "Political Signal" that day, "Since former President Park Geunhye, I think former leader Han is the only conservative presidential contender who has had this level of fandom." Regarding Han's future political steps, Yoo said, "As far as I know, he is still in the stage of deliberation," and added, "There are less than four months left until the local elections, but three months is by no means a short time in Korean politics. There are many variables, are there not?" He went on, "Taking all these variables into comprehensive consideration, I believe he will carefully ponder and then decide on matters such as whether to run in a constituency race."
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