Na Kyung-won Speaks on Rumors of Han Dong-hoon as Party Leader, “Wouldn’t President Yoon Oppose?”

Na Kyung-won, vice chair of the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy speaks at the signing of a convention for joint action in response to the population crisis at the Korea Enterprises Federation in Mapo-gu, Seoul on December 2. Yonhap News

Na Kyung-won, vice chair of the Presidential Committee on Aging Society and Population Policy spoke on rumors of selecting Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon as the leader of the People Power Party (PPP) on December 6 and said, “It’s not a bad idea, but I think President Yoon Suk-yeol might oppose.”

Na expressed her thoughts in a CBS radio interview on Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show Tuesday and asked, “Wouldn’t he (President Yoon) place him (Minister Han) in a more valuable position?”

The vice chair of the presidential committee explained, “The next party leader has the very difficult challenge of bringingthe thoughts of the presidential office and real public opinion together in agreement,” and said, “I think the president probably won’t place Han in such a tough position. After all, he is so fond of him.”

Na continued, “At present, there are some difficulties for new blood to handle the job of party leader,” and commented, “It could be a surprise event, but I wonder how easy it would be to manage it (the party) until the parliamentary elections.”

Vice chairperson Na, a former four-time lawmaker who once served as the PPP floor leader, said, “Just take the population issue. The most important start for a powerful drive is for the party to do well,” and added, “I haven’t completely abandoned my interest in the party convention.”

Na also spoke her opinion on the current PPP floor leader Joo Ho-young recently naming possible party leader candidates being mentioned inside and outside the party and saying, “The party members are worried because there is no one visible, certain of winning in the parliamentary elections.” She criticized Joo and said his comment was “very regrettable.”

Na argued, “Dissing one of our own is worse than gunning him down,” and said, “Denouncing the people in the past claiming they all had problems seems to be a real chronic problem in our party.” At the same time, she stressed, “In fact, I have not expressed my intention (to run for party leader), but I continue to keep an overwhelming lead (among party leader candidates) among the PPP supporters.”

As for the suggestion that the PPP should reduce the public opinion to 10% and increase the party member votes to 90% when electing the party leader, Na expressed her reluctance and said, “It could be misunderstood as an attempt to change the rules to exclude or support a particular candidate ahead of the party convention,” and explained that she was calling for caution rather than opposing the suggestion.