PPP's designated interim leader hints at turn toward the center

Former Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon is expected to focus his efforts on rebuilding trust in the People Power Party among swathes of uncommitted voters ahead of the April general action.

PPP interim leader-designate Han Dong-hoon attends a ceremony marking his resignation from the Justice Ministry in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi, on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Former Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, who officially accepted the conservative People Power Party's (PPP) invitation to fill the post of interim leader on Thursday, is expected to focus his efforts on rebuilding trust in the party among swathes of uncommitted voters ahead of the April general action.

Han’s comments before and just after he accepted his nomination suggest that he aims to bring the PPP’s policy agenda closer in line with centrists, residents of the Seoul metropolitan area and youth.

During his visit to the central city of Daejeon on Nov. 21, Han said he would eschew the “dialect shared only by 300 people in Yeouido” in favor of “the language spoken by 50 million” in an apparent reference to the perceived isolation of the 300-member National Assembly, which is located in Yeoudio, western Seoul.

After he resigned from his post as justice minister, Han also said that he would strive to be guided “by the compass of the people’s logic and thoughts” — a comment that suggested he believes the PPP is currently too far removed from the concerns of most people.

Han is expected to bring the same approach to the PPP’s emergency steering committee, where he will be responsible for appointing 12 out of a total of 15 members.

The former justice minister said Thursday that his priority as the committee’s leader to bring in “capable individuals who are prepared to sacrifice with passion for the people.”

The same day, PPP floor leader Rep. Yun Jae-ok appeared to back Han’s criteria for selecting new leadership, saying that he wants emergency committee members who “can expand the party’s outside connections to economically vulnerable young people, political moderates and residents of the capital area.”

The relative youth of the 50-year-old Han compared to the PPP’s old guard has also been mentioned as a sign that the party is looking to attract new support from demographic groups that have not traditionally voted for the party.

Rep. Ha Tae-keung, a PPP lawmaker who took part in student activism against the military dictatorship of the 1980s, argued in a Facebook post on Friday that the party could overhaul its public image entirely if its emergency committee were wholly filled with people born from the 1970s onwards.

“The PPP can present itself as a ‘789’ party filled with people born in the 70s, 80s, and 90s against the Democratic Party, whose members still mentioned their struggle against the long-past military dictatorship as a reason why people should vote for them,” Ha wrote.

Han’s nomination as the PPP interim leader came after Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon stepped down amid mounting pressure for party reform.

Before his resignation, Kim and other PPP heavyweights faced pressure to bring in new faces and give up safe seats to run in constituencies that traditionally lean toward the rival Democratic Party (DP).

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]