Handonghun Emergency Committee Launch... Reshaping Party-Government Relations?

With the launch of the 'Han Dong-hoon Emergency Response Committee Chair' system in the People Power Party, attention is focused on whether the previously criticized vertical party-government relationship will improve. Inside and outside the People Power Party, there are calls for Chairman Han to dispel the image of being 'President Yoon Seok-yeol's proxy' and to newly establish the party-government relationship for next year's general election.

On the 27th, Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, said on KBS Radio that he "expects a healthy party-government relationship to be formed" under Chairman Han. Ahn said, "Some are concerned that (Chairman Han) is accustomed to the hierarchical order emphasized in his prosecutorial career, so the relationship with the president might not escape a vertical party-government relationship," but he argued, "Rather, the president and Chairman Han have a long-standing relationship that allows for frank conversations, and misunderstandings are unlikely to arise in any dialogue." This analysis suggests that the presidential office and the ruling party can solidify a cooperative partnership.

Handonghun, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is making a statement at the People Power Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 26th. Photo by Jo Yongjun jun21@

From the opposition party, there were also calls for candid advice to overcome the vertical party-government relationship. On the same day, Kim Young-bae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on KBS Radio, "Even if President Yoon and Chairman Han have a bromance-like relationship, if they are leading the government, they must check and advise each other where necessary." He added, "To grow as leaders guiding the country, Chairman Han should advise the president not to exercise a veto on the Kim Geon-hee special prosecutor law, and even if there is a request for reconsideration of the law in the National Assembly, he should show agreement." Cho Eung-cheon, also from the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out, "Chairman Han did not mention the vertical party-government relationship in his inaugural speech," and criticized, "He did not touch on the fundamental problems of the People Power Party."

After delivering his acceptance speech as Emergency Response Committee Chair the previous day, Chairman Han dismissed concerns about the party-government relationship, saying, "The president can better explain policies because there is a ruling party, and the ruling party must be loved for the president to have more power," adding, "There is no place in this relationship for palace intrigues like who suppresses or blocks whom, which only appear in historical dramas."

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