Han Dong-hoon's return to PPP surfaces as party chief questions timing

Calls for independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon to rejoin the People Power Party have emerged as a flashpoint within the party, driven by growing sentiment that conservative unity is needed ahead of the 2028 general election. The party leadership, however, has kept its distance from the readmission debate, focusing instead on street protests and an intensifying offensive against the ruling bloc.

According to political sources, PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok appeared on the Maeil Business Newspaper's YouTube channel on Thursday, saying he had anticipated the readmission debate would resurface after the national audit. "Now that the national audit is over and approval ratings have recovered somewhat, people are fixating on internal party matters again," Jang said.

Voices calling for Han's return have grown louder within the PPP in recent weeks. Four-term lawmaker Kim Tae-ho urged the leadership to act decisively, saying the party must "pool its scattered resources and concentrate all its strength on a unified response." Five-term lawmaker Yun Sang-hyeon, along with Kwon Young-jin — aligned with the pro-Oh Se-hoon faction — and Park Jeong-hun of the pro-Han camp, also said Han's readmission was necessary. The underlying argument is that conservative consolidation must come first if the party is to win the 2028 general election.

Jang took issue with both the timing of the readmission push and the role senior lawmakers were playing. "On the very day we began condemning the special prosecutor act targeting the president for fabricated indictment and launched a filibuster, senior members suddenly raised internal party issues," Jang said. "I wonder whether that is truly helpful to our fight against the ruling bloc, whether the timing is appropriate, and whether it fits the role they should be playing — leading first- and second-term lawmakers from the front. Party members watching this must feel frustrated."

Jang added that the opposition could not afford the distraction. "We don't have enough hours in the day even when we're fully focused on fighting the government and ruling party as the opposition," he said. "Yet whenever we try to mount an offensive against the ruling bloc, voices like this keep coming from within our own camp."

The party leadership has in practice been escalating its confrontation with the ruling bloc. After the special prosecutor act on fabricated indictment passed the National Assembly on Thursday following a filibuster, the PPP immediately held a rally on the steps outside the main Assembly building. The party plans to hold street protests near Gyeongbokgung Station over the weekend to build public criticism of the government and ruling party.

On Monday, the party will hold a supreme council meeting on-site in front of Cheong Wa Dae and launch a one-person protest vigil. The following day, Tuesday, it plans to convene a general assembly of lawmakers there to increase pressure on the government and ruling party.

Jang also expressed concern that internal unity talks could end up fracturing the party's own support base. "The reason our approval ratings recovered after the local elections is ultimately that we kept pointing out what the government and ruling party were doing wrong," he said. "The issues we raise internally only divide our own supporters and have nothing to do with people's livelihoods."