Unconstitutional: Han Dong-hoon, People Power Party Leader, Tries to Usurp Presidential Power

2024-12-10, Tara O

President Yoon Suk-yeol faces attacks not only from the opposition party that is trying to bring him down after the martial law, but also from within his own party, the People Power Party, by its leader Han Dong-hoon.

Prime Minister Han Duk-soo and People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon, 7 December 2024

On 7 December 2024, Han Dong-hoon, along with Prime Minister Han Duk-su, held a press conference and announced “Until the president leaves office, the president will be effectively removed from office, and the prime minister, in consultation with the [People Power] party, will take care of the running of the state without a hitch.”  Han also stated, “Even before he leaves office, the president will not be involved in state affairs, including foreign affairs.”  Han claimed that “President Yoon also promised to entrust the party with a plan to stabilize the political situation in the future, including during his term, in accordance with the mandate of the people.”  Meanwhile, President Yoon had not made announcements, either confirming nor denying this.

Here are various problems with Han Dong-hoon’s statements, including the legality and the “mandate” he is referring to.  Han has no constitutional or legal authority to take over power from the president.  Han is not even a lawmaker.  Prior to this, he was the Justice Minister appointed by Yoon, but he holds no government position currently; he heads a political party.  Yet, he stated that he will carry out the duties of state affairs, including foreign policy as an unelected person with no mandate from the people.

Here’s the full speech video on SBS, a major broadcaster in South Korea.

It had over 2,300 comments, singularly criticizing Han Dong-hoon and Han Duk-soo for trying to usurp the power away from the president.  If the president is impeached, then the gap is filled by the prime minister, per the law.  However, the president was not impeached.  Here are some sample comments:

• Is power a rice cake? To divide it between you two?  The owners of the rice cake (the citizens) didn’t even allow it. You really look down on the Korean citizens.
• There was no impeachment, so how can the prime minister act in an acting capacity? It’s just a pun and you’re just trying to gaslight us by saying you did this
• Are they ill?  No matter how you look at it, the way they take power is at the Communist level
• Hey Dong-hoon, who are you to say you’ll act as the president?  (Your party) collapsed at the general election (of April 10, 2024) with only 108 seats, so you can’t do anything…Who gave the prime minister and a party leader, who are not even elected, the power? The citizens? You must be joking.
• What are you two doing?  You two don’t have any authority, so what are you two doing?
• What did I just see ha ha ha ha. It’s a comedy. They’re crazy, right???
• You two are saying you’ll blatantly take power?  Is there anyone who voted for Han Duk-su and Han Dong-hoon?  You’re not even in elected positions.  What are you 2 doing?
• You’re playing with words. There’s no impeachment, so how can the prime minister be delegated power? Is this North Korea? Ha ha ha ha. Are you having a Communist party meeting?
• This is a more of a naeran (rebellion). Why are they making a fuss passing power back and forth?
• Han Dong-hoon is out of his mind.  [Note:  Naeran is what Han and the opposition party are accusing Yoon of]
• Is the Republic of Korea some sort of private company? How can you take the president’s power and give it to employees below and have them acting [like the president] instead?
• Oh, in the Republic of Korea, presidential power can be leased out
• Mr. Han Dong-hoon, your choice this time is a failure
• Fact:  Neither of the two are elected
• Mr. Han (Dong-hoon), you are not the President’s spokesman. Why do you act like #2? Who gave you such power? You can’t insist on authority that isn’t even in the law
• The citizens have entrusted the authority of the citizens to the president.  They did not delegate it to Han Dong-hoon and Han Duk-soo.  The Constitution does not state it. By what authority do you intend to exercise presidential authority?
• These guys are really going crazy.
• What makes the prime minister and a party leader think they can receive the [president’s] authority? Ha ha ha ha ha ha.  They’re out of their minds.
• Are they playing a little kids’ game? Who does Han Dong-hoon think he is to [receive the president’s] authority?
• Han Dong-hoon.  If he becomes a president, it’ll be a disaster.  Glad I found out now.
• Who do you think you are?
• The Korean citizens never elected you as the president! Resign! Han Dong-hoon, who starts another naeran (rebellion), should resign! For the prime minister and party leader to go to the parliamentary system [instead of the presidential system] is an act of disrespect for the Korean citizens.

Han Dong-hoon’s controversy dates back to before the April 2024 elections.  When Han became the de facto leader of the People Power Party as the Chairman of the Emergency Committee some months prior to the April 2024 elections, it was revealed that his key advisors and family members have Chinese Communist Party (CCP) connections, and the public became wary of him.   

Han appointed a controversial lawmaker Kim Hyung-dong (김형동) as the committee’s chief of staff on December 26, 2023.  At that time, Kim’s wife was a Chinese citizen of ethnic Korean descent, born in China.  Although they had been married over 10 years, she did not have ROK citizenship at that time, but maintained Chinese citizenship.  Her father was a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) member.  When Kim Hyung-dong ran for National Assembly in April 2020, he was asked about his father-in-law’s CCP membership.  His campaign stated that his farther-in-law was “forced to acquire Chinese nationality in order to survive the Cultural Revolution in China,” and, “He may have had a party record in the past, but now he is in his 80s and is an old man, so I think he probably no longer has a party membership.”  The CCP’s United Front Department is notorious for using its citizens abroad for influence operations, whether they are CCP members or not.

Kim Hyung-dong is also one of 100 legislators who signed to be founding members of the Korea-China Parliamentary Federation (한중의원연맹) in December 2022.  This is organization is about creating closer ties between the CCP and the National Assembly lawmakers form various parties, including Han’s People Power Party as well as the opposition Democratic Party of Korea.  The efforts to create the Korea-China Parliamentary Federation suddenly sped up after Li Zhanshu, Chairman of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress (SCCNPC, 중국 전국인민대표대회) visited the National Assembly in September 2022 and the Federation stood up in less than 3 months later.

Han Dong-hoon’s father-in-law Jin Hyung-gu (진형구), a career prosecutor who was rapidly promoted under Kim Dae-jung administration, and later became a publisher of a weekly magazine called China Life.  China Life partners with People’s Daily, Chinese Communist Party’s organ that distributes CCP’s propaganda.

Han Dong-hoon abused his power as the party’s de facto leader in March 2024 by expelling Doe Tae-woo, who was already locally nominated to run for National Assembly representing Daegu.  Lawyer Doe was on the legal team that defended President Park Geun-hye during the impeachment (2016-2017), discussed incidents in Gwangju in May 1980 (mysterious “civilians” attacking 40+ armories, stealing and arming themselves with stolen weapons, stealing hundreds of military vehicles, etc.), and talked about election fraud in April 2020—Han did not like any of these issues.

When Han Dong-hoon was the Justice Minister, he never investigated election fraud charges despite public outcry, and as the party leader, he took numerous lawmakers and candidates to Gwangju Memorial Cemetery and said he ardently supports changing the constitution to insert ill-defined and controversial “5.18 Gwangju spirit” in the constitution.

When he was a prosecutor, Han Dong-hoon was known for his aggressiveness in prosecuting cases.  He was one of the key working-level prosecutors, who prosecuted President Park Geun-hye during her impeachment period and beyond for spurious “crimes” that were not based on evidence nor rooted in Korean Criminal law, but instead on false logic and public opinion, ultimately leading to her imprisonment.

He is also hostile to businesses, aggressively prosecuting large companies, such as Samsung and SK, bringing them to their knees.  He linked the then Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong and President Park together during her impeachment, claiming Samsung’s horses provided to a national equestrian team to prepare them for the Olympics was a bribe paid to President Park, sending both to prison.  For more background, see here for the impeachment of Park and here for Samsung’s predicament as a result of harassment-level prosecution.