hankyoreh

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon (right) shakes hands with PPP floor leader Yun Jae-ok at the National Assembly on Dec. 6. (Yonhap)

South Korea’s ruling People Power Party decided on Sunday to appoint Han Dong-hoon, the current minister of justice, as the head of its emergency interim leadership committee. Han is expected to resign from his ministerial position as early as this week.

A key ruling party official told the Hankyoreh on Sunday that lawmakers and the majority of the local party bargaining committees are “of the view that we should tackle the general election head-on with Han as the interim leader.” The official said that the party will appoint Han as chair “as soon as possible.”

The party predicted that Han’s resignation as minister would be speedily approved by President Yoon Suk-yeol, thus allowing him to begin working with the party. A senior official in the presidential office left the door open to the possibility of replacing Han, saying, “The party is in the midst of collecting various opinions, so we will consider them and make an announcement at a later date.”

There had been talk within the party that Han could decline the post, but the weekend saw the majority of the party come to an agreement that Han should be installed as interim leader.

“Just as water boils if you light a fire under a pot, party members are stoking the flames,” a party official told the Hankyoreh regarding efforts to instate Han. “It’s going to get done.”

The argument for Han to be named interim party leader is also expected to be raised at a meeting of the local party bargaining committees on Monday.

Kim Hwa-jin, the head of the PPP’s South Jeolla Province chapter, told the Hankyoreh, “The PPP has never managed to be popular in the Honam region [southwestern Korea], so it’d be nice to have someone as popular as Han step in and change things up. I plan to express this opinion at tomorrow’s meeting.”

Party floor leader Yun Jae-ok, the acting leader of the party, must appoint the chairperson of the emergency leadership committee, which will then be adopted through a resolution of the party’s national committee, which will function as a party convention.

“We will gather opinions within the party and come up with a consensus to make a decision,” Yun told reporters, noting that “a thorough discussion is necessary.”

However, there are many within the party and beyond who believe that Han’s appointment as interim leader would hinder innovation.

The idea of a minister who is often referred to as the “crown prince of the Yoon administration” as the face of the ruling party as it goes into April’s general election is at odds with Yoon’s call for change.

Mayor Hong Joon-pyo of Daegu, a member of the PPP, criticized the move on Facebook, writing, “What sort of election [outcome] do they expect by making another avatar of President Yoon Suk-yeol party leader?”

“If we have a president who was a prosecutor and an interim party leader who was also a prosecutor, everyone will think that [the party and administration both] revolve around prosecutors,” lawmaker Choe Jae-hyeong told the Hankyoreh over the phone. “The role of the interim party leader is about not being afraid to criticize the president and show a new perspective on issues.”

“If Han does become interim leader, it will definitely be hard to see this as a step toward innovation,” said Eom Ki-hong, a professor of political science at Kyungpook National University.

“The PPP is on its way to being chock full of pro-Yoon figures, which will inevitably lead centrists to believe that the ruling party is on a path to being ruled by the president,” he added. “It’ll only solidify the belief that South Korea is a veritable ‘republic of prosecutors.’”

By Seo Young-ji, staff reporter; Sun Dam-eun, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]