Han Dong-hoon returns to Assembly, vows to rebuild conservatives and check power

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon returned to the National Assembly on Friday after winning the June 3 Busan Buk-gu A by-election.

Before attending the plenary session that afternoon, Han met reporters on the steps of the main Assembly building and bowed deeply. "I have returned here today, Friday, by the power of the people," he said.

He recalled standing in the same spot on the night of Dec. 3, 2024, saying the decisions and actions he took that night — as a South Korean citizen and as People Power Party leader — had put him on a politically difficult road ever since.

"But even if I went back to that moment, I would make the same choice," he said. He added that he would fulfill through diligent legislative work the public's call to rebuild conservatism and check the runaway exercise of power, as well as advance the development of his constituency.

After the plenary session, Han pushed back on suggestions that he was positioning himself against the People Power Party. "I was just shaking hands and smiling with PPP lawmakers a moment ago," he said. "There are many in the party who want it to do well." He added: "I am someone who wants the People Power Party to succeed. The idea that I am squaring off against the party does not match the facts or the context."

On his committee assignment, Han said he would lead the charge against any move by the Lee Jae Myung government to drop criminal charges, regardless of which committee he was placed on. "A lawmaker is not a specialist confined to one committee's work," he said. "I will actively engage on any issue that is necessary for the country."

He added that he planned to travel to Busan on the weekend to meet constituents.

In an appearance on Channel A, Han said the conservative rebuilding he had long championed was already under way. "Conservatism has already begun to be rebuilt. My victory has made it clear what public sentiment wants," he said. He noted that constituencies where the PPP's ruling faction had set the tone all failed to win. "Public sentiment has been this precise in its message — they will have no choice but to follow it," he said.

Asked about rejoining the PPP, Han said there was no rush. "The public has already rendered its verdict," he said. He warned that turning the question of his return into a political flashpoint would only benefit the party's ruling faction, which he said should take responsibility and step down.

Han was particularly pointed on the future of PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok. He recalled that when he led the party as emergency committee chair during the last general election, former President Yoon Suk Yeol's erratic behavior had significantly hurt the party's performance — and that he had resigned unconditionally as soon as the results came in. "In politics, and especially for a leader, accountability means owning the results," he said.

Han had arrived at the Assembly earlier that day in a black suit and a dark brown necktie bearing a passage from the Yongbieocheonga, a 15th-century Korean epic poem, written in Hunminjeongeum, the original script of the Korean alphabet. He wore the same tie at his inauguration as justice minister in 2022, his acceptance speech as PPP emergency committee chair in 2023, and his resignation as PPP leader in 2024.

Waiting to greet him outside the main Assembly chamber were several lawmakers aligned with him, including three-term Rep. Kim Seong-won and Reps. Han Ji-a, Park Jeong-ha, Ko Dong-jin, Jeong Seong-guk, Jin Jong-oh, Jeong Yeon-uk, Park Jeong-hun and Bae Hyun-jin.

About 200 of Han's supporters gathered outside the main Assembly building, cheering and holding signs that read "Congratulations on Lawmaker Han Dong-hoon's first day" and "Buk-gu is cheering you on."