Why Did Han Dong-hoon, the Key Figure in the 'Martial Law Lift,' Decide to Reject the Impeachment?

On the 7th, the People Power Party responded to public pressure with an all-out effort to reject the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol by 'party resolution rejection.' The impeachment motion against President Yoon was dismissed in the National Assembly plenary session as only 195 out of 300 members participated in the vote, resulting in a failure to meet the quorum. Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, regarding the responsibility for the failure. When asked if he had a message for Leader Han, Lee said, "Politics should not be used as a means to satisfy personal desires."

Why did Han Dong-hoon, who initially supported 'impeachment,' join in the 'rejection' despite emphasizing the necessity of suspending President Yoon's duties?

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The future political landscape will revolve around Leader Han. He effectively led the president to step back from the frontline while simultaneously blocking the opposition's impeachment offensive. Earlier, President Yoon stated, "I will entrust our party with the future political stability measures, including my term issues," and added, "Our party and the government will take joint responsibility for future state affairs." This is interpreted as a request for Leader Han and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to lead. After the statement, Leader Han even returned to the National Assembly following an 80-minute meeting with Prime Minister Han.

Leader Han is expected to announce his strategy for responding to the political situation around the 8th.

Although the ruling party has for now blocked the flying blade of impeachment, it now faces the challenge of directly countering the opposition's relentless attacks through various investigations in the future.

Some in the political sphere suggest that the ruling party's endurance of the crisis instead of 'cutting ties' with President Yoon is rooted in the trauma of the conservative collapse during former President Park Geun-hye's impeachment. However, further explanation is needed regarding Leader Han, who appeared alongside 18 People Power Party lawmakers in the National Assembly plenary session during the emergency martial law period and played a key role in lifting the martial law, taking on such a burden.

Because of this, there is speculation that the focus might be on Lee Jae-myung, the virtually sole presidential candidate of the Democratic Party. Lee, who was sentenced to disqualification for violating the Public Official Election Act, could receive a final verdict in his trial within the next six months. The ruling party is believed to have a comeback card aiming to delay the early presidential election phase and shift the political situation based on the progress of Lee's trial.

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