Estranged former ruling party leader hints at return to politics
Published : Feb. 16, 2025 - 18:05:40 Updated : Feb. 16, 2025 - 20:00:08
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Published : Feb. 16, 2025 - 18:05:40 Updated : Feb. 16, 2025 - 20:00:08
Link copied!
Han Dong-hoon, former ruling party leader who resigned after President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached last December, resumed social media activities for the first time this year in an apparent show of interest in returning to politics.
"Reflecting on people's advice in the past two months, I had opportunities for soul-searching," Han said on his Facebook account Sunday.
"I will see you in the near future," he told some 29,000 followers, adding that he was authoring a book -- a customary practice among politicians ahead of a presidential election.
The prosecutor-turned-politician quit the party chair position on Dec. 16. He had been accused of causing an internal rift in the ruling People Power Party that led to parliament's passage of a motion to impeach the sitting president on insurrection charges on Dec. 14.
Yoon, a conservative President, had worked with Han previously when both were public prosecutors. As Yoon came to power, Han became the first Justice Minister of the Yoon administration.
Han entered politics when he became the interim leader of the People Power Party in December 2023. Following the party's general election defeat in April 2024, Han regained control of the party when he was elected as the People Power Party's chair in July that same year.
After Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law, the now-suspended president had vowed to hand over his power to handle state affairs to his party. Han said he would cooperate with Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to govern the country, but the so-called "orderly takeover" plan faced criticism for lacking constitutional grounds.
Under Han's leadership, at least 12 People Power Party lawmakers of the 108 at the National Assembly voted in favor of Yoon's suspension from his post, allowing the impeachment motion to pass on Dec. 14.
Pro-Yoon lawmaker Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun told reporters Sunday that now is time that Han should lie low, blasting him for the party's division that he says led to the conservatives' downfall.
Lawmaker Yoon added that Han's return "could put a damper on the party's move" to restore public support for the conservative party and pursue the party's unity.
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