President Yoon and PPP’s interim leader Han meet at market fire site after clash

President Yoon Suk-yeol and Han Dong-hoon, chairman of the People\'s Power Emergency Committee, tour the site of a fire at Seocheon Specialty Market in Seocheon-eup, Seocheon-gun, Chungcheongnam-do, on Jan. 23. By Sung Dong-hoon

President Yoon Suk-yeol and interim leader of the ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) Han Dong-hoon met at the site of a market fire in Seocheon, South Chungcheong Province after clashing over allegations involving the first lady and nominations for the upcoming general election in April. The two visited a traditional market in Seocheon on January 23, which was destroyed by a fire the previous day. They also got on the same train on their way back to Seoul. Han said, "There is no change in respect and trust for the president." Lee Chul-kyu, a key member of the pro-Yoon Suk-yeol faction, said, "There was a misunderstanding in the conversation between Han and the presidential office."

However, the possibility cannot be ruled out that the conflict will flare up again as the two sides still have differences over the future course of action of PPP’s emergency committee member Kim Kyung-yul who has repeatedly demanded that Yoon's spouse, Kim Keon-hee, apologize for receiving a luxury bag. Some criticized the two for meeting at the disaster site, saying they were "using the pain of the people's lives as a political show."

When Yoon arrived at the site, Han, who had arrived earlier, bowed deeply at the waist. Yoon patted Han on the shoulder and shook his hand. The black padded jumper worn by Yoon on this day is known to have been his favorite clothes that he wore seven years ago when he was working with Han on the special prosecution team for state affairs manipulation. There were interpretations that Yoon was trying to emphasize their long-standing relationship.

After hearing the fire chief's report on the fire extinguishing situation, they walked along the fire site together and met with market merchants. On the way back to Seoul, Han got on the presidential train together at the suggestion of Yoon and the two talked for about an hour.

"I have a lot of respect and trust in the president, which hasn't changed at all," Han told reporters after arriving at Seoul Station. “On the train, Yoon said a lot of constructive things about supporting people's livelihoods, and I listened carefully. We have come this far with the thought of taking care of the people's livelihoods and making the country become better. I will do my best to get the people's choice on April 10, the general election day.”

The president's office seems to expect the scandal to subside through the meeting. An official from the presidential office said in a phone interview, "It is best for us to have the general election under the leadership of Han. It was just an incident that happened with different opinions."

The conflict between the two sides could flare up again over the future course of action of PPP’s emergency committee member Kim Kyung-yul. The pro-Yoon faction refers to the first Lady Kim Keon-hee as Marie Antoinette when criticizing her, and argues that Kim Kyung-yul, who had been controversial over the strategic election nomination for Mapo, Seoul, should resign from the emergency committee. "It may or may not look like that," said Lee Chul-kyu, a member of the pro-Yoon Suk-yeol faction, referring to reports that Han had coordinated Kim's candidacy with the rest of the leadership.

Some say that Han needs to distance himself from Yoon in order to receive support from the moderate in the upcoming general election, which will inevitably lead to another conflict between Yoon and Han. In particular, there is a prospect that there will be a conflict between the two during the nomination process.

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