Yoon to Han Dong-hoon: "In politics, it's important to build your own team"... Han: "I will do well"

Previous Day 'Yoon-Han' 1 Hour 30 Minute Meeting at Presidential Office
Warm Atmosphere... "Yoon, Affectionate Advice"
After Private Meeting Han... Focus on Pro-Yoon Faction Policy Committee Chair Replacement

President Yoon Suk-yeol is holding hands and taking a commemorative photo with People Power Party's new leadership, including Representative Han Dong-hoon (left) and Floor Leader Choo Kyung-ho (right), at a dinner held on the 24th at Pine Grass in front of the Yongsan Presidential Office in Seoul.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol advised Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the People Power Party, that "in politics, ultimately, it is important to build your own people," the presidential office announced on the 31st. Han responded, "I will do well without worrying the President."

On the morning of the 30th, President Yoon met with Han at the Yongsan Presidential Office and said, "It is important to broadly embrace various people and make them your own," according to a presidential office official.

The official said, "President Yoon gave Han many affectionate pieces of advice," adding, "He expressed hope that Han would strengthen the organization's weaknesses and lead the organization well, and that he would develop it further."

During the meeting, discussions about party position reshuffles naturally arose, but President Yoon said, "Let the party leader handle it as he sees fit."

Recently, within the People Power Party, there has been an under-the-surface power struggle between the pro-Yoon faction and the pro-Han faction over whether to replace Jeong Jeom-sik, the chairman of the Policy Committee, who is classified as pro-Yoon. Han has recently reshuffled the party around the pro-Han faction by appointing Representative Park Jeong-ha as the party leader's secretary-general and Representative Seo Beom-su as the secretary-general responsible for party finances.

As a result, attention inside and outside the party is focused on whether the chairman of the Policy Committee, who oversees party policies as an ex officio supreme council member, will be replaced. Currently, Jeong Jeom-sik, who is pro-Yoon, has been serving in this role for two months.

Within the ruling party, there is an analysis that since President Yoon told Han to "handle it as you see fit," he meant for him to decide the party's operations without worrying about factions. However, some interpret that President Yoon implied an intention to embrace the pro-Yoon faction and promote harmony.

At the end of the meeting with Han, President Yoon said, "Once the party appointments are finalized and the leadership is organized, I will invite you to the residence for a dinner," promising their next meeting.

According to the presidential office, the meeting the previous day lasted for one hour and thirty minutes, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Only Chief Secretary Jeong Jin-seok, who arranged the meeting, was present.

Although the meeting was initially scheduled for about an hour, the discussion was extended as President Yoon and Han postponed their separately scheduled lunch appointments. It is known that there was no 'private meeting' without Chief Secretary Jeong attending.

A presidential office official explained, "The two shared stories about their past legal careers and held the meeting in a warm and friendly atmosphere."

President Yoon Suk-yeol is greeting Han Dong-hoon, the candidate for party leader, as he enters the 4th People Power Party Convention held at KINTEX in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do on the afternoon of the 23rd.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

It is expected that President Yoon and Han recently discussed sensitive current issues as well as ways to strengthen party-government cooperation amid a situation where the opposition holds a majority in the National Assembly.

However, the presidential office stated that during the meeting, Han did not mention the 'Third-Party Special Prosecutor Act' he proposed, the Special Prosecutor Act for Cha Sang-byeong, or the establishment of a second secretariat to assist First Lady Kim Keon-hee.

When asked whether this meeting would lead to regular meetings between the party and the government, a presidential office official said, "It was not detailed enough to say it will be regularized, but they will meet frequently," adding, "The reason for holding the meeting privately was not only to have substantive conversations but also because it is not a simple event; they will meet often in the future, so there was no need to make it public."

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