Han Dong-hoon, former head of the People's Power Party, announces decision not to run in party convention… Attention focused on the direction of the pro-Han faction's support

On the 24th, Han Dong-hoon, the former head of the People's Power Party, abruptly declared that he would not run in the 8/22 party convention.

With Han's absence from the race—having been categorized as a supporter of impeachment and having opposed the old pro-Yoon Seok-youl faction—political attention is on which candidates the pro-Han supporters will cast their votes for.

In a Facebook post on the same day, Han explained his reason for not running: "Instead of engaging in a power struggle that deceives party members, who are the true owners of the party, and disappoints the citizens, who are the true owners of the Republic of Korea, I want to pursue a politics where citizens and party members take the lead."

Criticism of the party's far-right movement and a prediction of reform efforts

Han criticized former Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo and lawmaker Jang Dong-hyuk by stating, "Recently, the movement to regress and completely far-right our party, beyond just rejecting innovation, has grown."

He further criticized by saying, "It is unfortunate to see figures who were candidates for our party in the last presidential election and those who have declared their intention to challenge for party leadership chiming in."

Identified as a strong candidate for party leadership immediately after the presidential election loss, Han has been contemplating whether to run while maintaining his influence within the party.

Observing recent controversies, including the joining of Jeon Han-gil, it is known that he has shifted from challenging for leadership within the party to building a 'Reform Coalition' with conservative figures inclined towards reform outside the party.

As a result, it is projected that Han's support base will likely be dispersed towards figures such as Representative Jo Kyung-tae, categorized as pro-Han, or Representative Ahn Cheol-soo, who is aligned with the impeachment supporters.

Discussions on unifying the reform faction and new candidacy announcements

While Representative Jo Kyung-tae has proposed unifying candidates from the 'reform faction,' Ahn Cheol-soo has distanced himself from this idea.

After a luncheon meeting with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon on the 24th, Ahn stated to reporters, "If a runoff is held, party members will determine who the innovative candidate is and could produce a unification effect by concentrating their votes."

On the same day, lawmaker Joo Jin-woo (first-term, Busan Haeundae-gap) also officially announced his candidacy for the party convention.

At a press conference at the National Assembly’s communication center, Joo expressed, "I am running for party leader to reorganize the ranks of the People's Power Party and transform it into a young and strong conservative party," and demanded that the old mainstream powers, such as Kwon Young-se and Kwon Seong-dong, step down from their positions.

Meanwhile, according to the results of a public opinion poll conducted by Embrain Public, K-Stat Research, Korea Research, and Korean Research (with a margin of error of ±3.1% at a 95% confidence level; reference from the Central Election Survey Deliberation Committee) released on the 24th, the approval rating for the People's Power Party was recorded at 17%, marking the lowest since the party name change.

Image sources: Han Dong-hoon, former head of the People's Power Party / News1, Former Korean history instructor Jeon Han-gil / News1, Ahn Cheol-soo and Jo Kyung-tae shaking hands / News1