PPP eyes expulsion of former leader Han Dong-hoon over alleged defamation posts

The conservative People Power Party's (PPP) ethics committee on Wednesday decided to expel former party leader Han Dong-hoon, whose family was allegedly involved in writing a series of malignant and defamatory posts targeting the party.

Former People Power Party (PPP) chief Han Dong-hoon speaks during a primary for the presidential election at the National Assembly in western Seoul on April 29, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

The conservative People Power Party's (PPP) ethics committee on Wednesday decided to expel former party leader Han Dong-hoon, whose family was allegedly involved in writing a series of malignant and defamatory posts targeting the party.

Expulsion is the most severe disciplinary action that can be taken against a party member, depriving them of party membership.

According to a press release, the party’s ethics committee found that actions believed to have been done by Han’s family violated the party’s code of conduct and disgraced the party.

The party found that accounts assumed to be owned by Han’s family wrote 1,000 to 1,600 malicious posts against the former presidential couple and party figures who were not aligned with him. The posts were made on the party member-only online bulletin board between September and November 2024.

The party also noted that several posts allegedly written by Han and his wife were deleted in the early hours of Nov. 6, 2024.

Han served as the PPP leader between July 2024 and December of the same year. He reportedly clashed with then-President Yoon over issues surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee.

On Dec. 30 of last year, the party’s internal audit board transferred the case — an initial finding that 1,428 malicious posts were published by five accounts belonging to Han’s family — to the ethics committee.

In the press release, the PPP stated that Han’s family appeared to have attempted to manipulate public opinion, adding that their coordinated actions also constituted obstruction of business by paralyzing the online board’s original function of collecting public opinion. The party also accused Han of tampering with evidence by deleting it and failing to properly address the issue, as evidenced by his order to halt the audit board's probe into the allegation when he was the party leader.

The party noted that Han’s family inflicted “significant damage on the party’s reputation,” adding that he therefore “bears political and ethical responsibility for what his family did.”

The expulsion is due to be reviewed by the party's supreme council, which holds the authority to approve the measure.

Update, Jan. 14: added clarification about the accusation according to the PPP's update.

BY LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]