PPP leader dismisses presidential office’s request to resign

President Yoon Suk-yeol shakes hands with Han Dong-hoon, chairman of the People\'s Power Emergency Committee, during the \'2024 New Year\'s Greeting Ceremony\' at the Cheong Wa Dae official residence on Wednesday. Presidential Office Photojournalists

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Han Dong-hoon, interim leader of the ruling People's Power Party (PPP) Emergency Committee, are in conflict over countermeasures against "Kim Keon-hee risk," including allegations of receiving luxury bags. Yoon and mainstream lawmakers from the ruling party demanded Han's resignation, which he reportedly refused to do.

According to a report by Kyunghyang Shinmun on January 21, Yoon is said to have expressed dissatisfaction with Han and the PPP’s recent moves over Kim’s allegation of receiving luxury bags. A senior ruling party official told SBS that Lee Kwan-seop, the presidential chief of staff, told Han to resign in person.

Yoon is said to have expressed his discomfort over the fact that the party only demanded an apology from the first lady though the issue of receiving luxury bags was raised by a premeditated hidden camera trap.

In response to reports that it had called for Han's resignation, the presidential office said, “The issue of the PPP leader’s future is not for the presidential office to be involved," adding, "It is an expression of President Yoon's strong philosophy for a fair and transparent system for nomination," about the controversy over Yoon’s withdrawal of expectations and trust in Han.

As the controversy grew, Han issued a statement titled "Position of PPP leader Han Dong-hoon on Reports on the Presidential Office's Demand for Resignation," stating, "I decided to take this position only for the people. I will do my job.” He confirmed that he had no intention of resigning from the leader while acknowledging the conflict with the presidential office.

Regarding the demand for his resignation from ruling party lawmakers, Han reportedly told people around him that he would "do his job as a representative of the party." The presidential office, on the other hand, remained silent.

As such, the reason behind Yoon raising the issue of Han's future as the party leader less than a month after his inauguration is the difference in stance on the Kim Keon-hee risk.

Before taking office, Han's position on the first lady’s special counsel probes was that it was a "political maneuvering," but on January 18, he hinted at the possibility of a subtle change of position, saying that while it was "basically a trap, there was something for the public to worry about." On the 19th, he said, “It's a matter to think about from the perspective of the public."

In particular, a member of the PPP’s emergency committee Kim’s insistence on apologizing to the first lady Kim appears to have added fuel to the fire. He demanded Kim's apology, pointing out Marie Antoinette's luxury and promiscuous life as the cause of the French Revolution. As Kim raised his voice, saying that the first lady should "prostrate herself and apologize," opinions began to erupt within the ruling party that she should apologize.

With the calls for his resignation erupting from the ruling party, Han appears to be at a crossroads. He must choose whether to take a step back to meet the demands of the presidential office or use the issue as an opportunity to shed the image of "Yoon’s Avatar."

For now, Han seems to have rejected the demand for his resignation and opted for a head-on confrontation. Clashes with Yoon seem inevitable. Attention is focusing on whether the conflict between Yoon and Han will end at the level of raising people’s attention or lead to a catastrophe in which current and future powers collide ahead of the general election in April. A key ruling party official said in a phone interview, "We can't rule out" the observation that Han might step down over the incident.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.