[Reporter’s Notebook] Two Reasons Behind the Democratic Party's Fierce Attacks on Han Donghoon

Seokjin Choi, Legal Affairs Reporter

The Democratic Party's attacks on Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon have continued for several days. There seem to be multiple political motives behind the Democratic Party's fierce offensive.

It began with five-term veteran and former leader Song Young-gil losing his temper and unleashing harsh words at Minister Han, showing a failure to control his anger. Following him, fellow party members Min Hyung-bae, Yoo Jeong-ju, and Kim Yong-min took turns continuing the baton. Judging by the level of remarks such as "brat," "you," "I felt like vomiting," and "beast," it could be called a "swearing challenge," as Minister Han put it.

There appear to be two reasons why Democratic Party lawmakers are so fixated on Minister Han. The first is an intention to tarnish Minister Han, who has emerged as a clear next leader in the conservative camp. However, it is not as easy as they think. The attackers are losing in verbal battles and are not morally superior either. Kim Eui-gyeom, Park Yong-jin, and Ahn Min-seok all attempted to target Minister Han but ended up disgraced. Kim Nam-guk, a member of the Democratic Party's first-term lawmakers' group "Cheoreomhoe," which led the attacks on Minister Han, left the party due to cryptocurrency trading issues. Choi Kang-wook was sentenced to prison and lost his parliamentary seat. Hwang Un-ha is awaiting sentencing after being sentenced to five years in prison for election interference.

The second reason is that attacks on Minister Han draw not only the enthusiastic support of the Democratic Party's hardline supporters, including "Gaeddal," but also public attention. For example, Park Yong-jin, who targeted Minister Han with false information in August but only revealed his own drunk driving record, reached number one on the portal's real-time search rankings. Similarly, Yoo Jeong-ju, who was almost unknown except for riding a bicycle in the corridor of the National Assembly members' office building, became newsworthy once linked to Minister Han.

Another "Cheoreomhoe" member, Kim Yong-min, is pushing for Minister Han's impeachment. Although he knows it will be 100% dismissed, he intends to use the number of lawmakers to suspend Minister Han's duties and tie his hands and feet. If the Democratic Party attempts an impeachment that is legally flawed, which has considerable opposition even within the party, it is likely to backfire. Despite the Democratic Party lawmakers' "mobbing," Minister Han recently topped the conservative camp with 13% support in a poll on preferred future political leaders.

There is a joke that goes, "President Yoon Seok-youl was born by Cho Kuk and raised by Chu Mi-ae." This is because former Minister Cho, who claimed innocence but only caused feelings of betrayal, and former Minister Chu, who pushed for an excessive disciplinary action against the Prosecutor General and was dismissed, were the "decisive culprits" who handed power to the People Power Party. This is a memory the Democratic Party must not forget.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.