Debate Over 'Han Dong-hoon Emergency Committee' Rumors: "Someone Who Has Never Done Politics Before"

After Kim Ki-hyun's resignation and the People Power Party's transition to an emergency response committee system, debates continue within the party over the new committee chairman. Meanwhile, Han Dong-hoon, the Minister of Justice who is leading the ruling party's next presidential candidate race, is emerging as a strong candidate for the committee chairman position. However, concerns have been raised about his lack of political experience and the possibility that he could reinforce the opposition party's 'Prosecutor Republic' frame.

On the 18th, People Power Party lawmaker Choi Jae-hyung appeared on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and responded to the host's question, "The opposition party often talks about a Prosecutor Republic regarding the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. What kind of evaluation would come if Minister Han takes on the committee chairman role?" by saying, "We have to consider that he will inevitably take on such (Prosecutor Republic) risks."

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon is attending the inauguration ceremony of Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae held at the Supreme Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 11th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

This implies that it would be difficult for a 'Han Dong-hoon emergency committee' to avoid criticism of a 'Prosecutor Republic' raised by the opposition. People Power Party lawmaker Lee Yong-ho also appeared on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' and said, "He could fall into the opposition's election frame," adding, "There is already a lot of public criticism toward former prosecutors. Bringing in a former prosecutor as the committee chairman under such circumstances is not good for the election frame."

There were also criticisms that Minister Han cannot avoid the 'Yoon Seok-yeol avatar' controversy due to his close ties with Minister Yoon Seok-yeol. During an internal party discussion, People Power Party lawmaker Kim Woong compared Han to 'Kim Ju-ae,' the daughter of Kim Jong-un, the General Secretary of the North Korean Workers' Party, suggesting that "he looks too much like President Yoon Seok-yeol." In response, People Power Party lawmaker Sung Il-jong rebutted on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' saying, "If Minister Han were told to act like an avatar for the president, would he do that? No, he wouldn't." However, he expressed concern, saying, "If such a valuable (political) resource appears too early and faces intense attacks from the opposition, he could get hurt."

There is also analysis that Minister Han is unsuitable as the emergency committee chairman due to his lack of political experience. Kim Jong-in, former emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party's predecessor, the United Future Party, lowered the possibility of success for a 'Han Dong-hoon emergency committee' at the 'New Choice' party founding convention held at the National Assembly the day before, saying, "That person has never done politics before. What could he possibly do if he suddenly comes in as the emergency committee chairman?"

However, there is also a counterargument that lack of political experience does not necessarily disqualify him. Jang Ye-chan, the youth supreme council member of the People Power Party, said on YTN's 'News King Park Ji-hoon' on the same day, "What our party needs now is not Yeouido-style rules or political experience," adding, "Some senior or non-mainstream members say political experience is important, but if those experienced politicians are so capable, why have they never come close to Minister Han in next presidential candidate support ratings until now?"

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