단상斷想

Recently, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Park Kyun-taek unleashed a tirade against independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon. In an interview, he said, “It seems his goal right now is to become president, but that seems like a ridiculous ambition. Someone who enjoys being so provocative might show a certain percentage of support, but don’t all People Power Party supporters agree with that? He needs to know his place. That guy is not someone who should, or can, do great things.”

He also cited the example of Kim Ji-yong, a candidate for the head of the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, saying, “I haven’t seen (Candidate Kim) act as despicable as Han Dong-hoon or a Japanese imperial spy.” Rep. Park directly attacked Rep. Han, choosing words of utmost ridicule and sarcasm like ‘provocative, despicable, and ridiculous.’

It might feel refreshing that Rep. Park, a senior prosecutor to Rep. Han, so sharply criticized the 'Han Dong-hoon' persona, but looking at the current level of the Democratic Party's 'response to Han Dong-hoon,' I also find it pathetic.

“That’s why he keeps getting called provocative.”

This was said by Choi Kang-wook, then a Democratic Party lawmaker, to Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee in August 2023. Policy verification between the Minister of Justice and a lawmaker disappeared, leaving only their verbal sparring. Three years have passed since then.

The Democratic Party's 'approach to Han Dong-hoon' seems to have not moved an inch forward from that Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting. Over those three years, Han Dong-hoon's political stature has, on the contrary, skyrocketed. After being expelled from the People Power Party, he was elected as an independent lawmaker and recently rose to first place in some polls for the next presidential suitability.

The Democratic Party's ridicule... provocative, despicable, ridiculous Han Dong-hoon

With about three and a half years left until the presidential election, there's no need to attach excessive meaning to specific numbers. However, it's hard to ignore the trend of him rising from the lower ranks to first place in just over a month. Han Dong-hoon's almost one-man show of intense debate, including the DMZ landmine explosion incident and the 'assassin(s)' controversy, has, in a way, boosted the presence of the opposition's presidential hopeful.

It's worth noting that even with the recent blatant "ridicule" and disparagement of Han Dong-hoon from some quarters of the Democratic Party, his approval ratings have actually surged. This is a concerning point, not so much because of Han Dong-hoon's independent "strength," but rather because the ruling party has further elevated him.

In fact, Han Dong-hoon was the 'crown prince' picked by Yoon Suk-yeol. Both the Minister of Justice and the interim leader of the People Power Party were positions handed to him, so the assessment that he was a lucky elite politician from Gangnam was not wrong. What changed was this year. Expelled from the People Power Party in January, he ran as an independent in the Busan Buk-gu Gap by-election and returned after defeating both the Democratic Party and People Power Party candidates.

For the first time, he stood on his own strength, without a party or a president. Yoon Suk-yeol laid the groundwork, but it was his self-reliance and competitiveness that allowed him to expand it further. This is not to promote Han Dong-hoon, but from this point on, the Democratic Party must also devise a new 'strategy against Han Dong-hoon'.

Currently, Han Dong-hoon is doing what the 109-seat opposition party cannot do alone. Han Dong-hoon is the first to issue messages on major issues such as personnel hearings, the judiciary, the prosecution, security, and ideological problems. The speed of an independent, who doesn't need to coordinate with the party, has also become a weapon. As a result, Han Dong-hoon suddenly emerged as a strong presidential candidate for the conservative bloc.

Meanwhile, what has the ruling party done? Nothing properly. Even though Han Dong-hoon won a badge in the by-election and infiltrated deep into the ruling party alone, running around here and there, the ruling party's response is merely to mock him, saying, "Wanting to become president is a ridiculous ambition." This is the same response we've been familiar with from the Democratic Party for the past three years.

The problem was that no matter how much the ruling party mocked Han Dong-hoon, it had no effect on him, and instead, Han Dong-hoon grew significantly in the meantime. Despite this, the same words came out of the mouth of a first-term pro-Lee Jae-myung lawmaker yesterday (the 4th).

For a politician whose very fight is the product, ridicule is not an attack but merely a supply of pure material for counter-attacks. Han Dong-hoon is not particularly hurt by such words. He is only glad to have one more thing to respond to. It's as if the ruling party keeps saying things that Han Dong-hoon would applaud enthusiastically.

Han Dong-hoon has been fiercely attacked for three years, but the result is that he is now the leading presidential candidate.

However, at this point, I am quite confused. Although Han Dong-hoon is indeed soaring and stirring up the enemy camp, the People Power Party itself does not welcome the very existence of 'Han Dong-hoon.' A widespread atmosphere of veto against him persists.

This is not because a rival like Chairman Jang Dong-hyuk controls the party, but rather stems from another sense of repulsion and rejection that the conservative party has towards the politician 'Han Dong-hoon' himself. A former official of the People Power Party I recently met criticized, saying, 'Jang Dong-hyuk is stubborn and doesn't listen to advice from those around him, but Han Dong-hoon is the same.'

In particular, he pointed out 'lack of leadership' as Han Dong-hoon's weakness. He is good at individual play but weak at teamwork. He specifically criticized that Han Dong-hoon completely lacks the inclusiveness and conflict-resolution political skills essential for a political leader, especially a presidential hopeful.

Han Dong-hoon's political style is reminiscent of a model student who studies alone and comes in first. He is skilled at preparing himself, building logic, and finding weaknesses in his opponents. Occasionally, he makes comments on class matters to assert his presence. However, he rarely shows himself making sacrifices for the entire class or waiting for a lagging friend. It's more like, 'I'm doing well, so follow me.'

This could be an advantage for a prosecutor or an opposition attacker, because all they need to do is perform well individually. Moreover, as an independent who doesn't need to adhere to party lines, Han Dong-hoon is currently indiscriminately firing unverified rumors like a fish in water, engrossed in political attacks. Of course, this has also stimulated the dormant presidential instincts of conservatives, which is reflected in his rising approval ratings.

However, the presidency is a different story. The president is not a position where one scores 100 points alone. They must bring along people who are only 60 points, and use those who dislike them if necessary. They must embrace rivals they fought against until yesterday. Sometimes, even if they believe they are right, they must step back for the organization.

The ability to fight and win alone and the ability to 'together' lead many people to a destination are completely different types of leadership. Lee Hoi-chang, whom former President Kim Young-sam discovered and nurtured, was also this type of elite politician. He didn't make his staff or subordinates work and dance, but rather made them wary and shrink back. In the 1997 presidential election, he failed to hold onto Lee In-je, who lost in the primaries, and also broke with Kim Young-sam, who had discovered him. Kim Dae-jung, on the other side, joined hands with Kim Jong-pil. The 'upright' Lee Hoi-chang lost by 390,000 votes.

Han Dong-hoon is a politician I don't want to work with again.

Among those who have worked with Han Dong-hoon, there are many who say he is 'someone they never want to work with again.' If you look at Han Dong-hoon alone, he seems to have investigative skills and an appeal to voters, but when he is thrown into a group, those strengths either don't work properly or evaporate.

This is because he works in a way that concentrates all judgments and achievements on himself, rather than using his abilities to elevate the overall capacity of the organization. The assessment is that he is accustomed to directly stepping forward to solve problems rather than sharing roles with colleagues (staff) and giving them credit, thereby growing together. This is a typical authoritarian leadership.

The current landscape of the People Power Party also shows this. Han Dong-hoon is the top contender for the next leader among People Power Party supporters, but there is little atmosphere within the party to accept him back and place him at the center. Only 'Alternative and Future,' a group of young lawmakers who are somewhat favorable to him, are actively recruiting him, while most neutral-leaning lawmakers and veteran politicians still show a negative view and attitude towards him.

Nevertheless, in the past, when Lee Hoi-chang was picked up by Kim Young-sam and rose to become a presidential candidate, he showed charisma and control over the party. However, Han Dong-hoon lacks even that. The reality is that members of parliament still hesitate and tilt their heads when they stand before 'Han Dong-hoon'. This is the huge gap and question mark between Han Dong-hoon's current soaring sniper ability and his competitiveness as a conservative presidential candidate.

여당의 해법은 여기서 나온다. 조롱과 인신공격이 오히려 한동훈의 진짜 약점을 가려주고 있다는 사실부터 알아야 한다. 혼자 두들겨 맞는 사람에게 팀(조직)이 없다는 것은 흠이 아니라 훈장이 된다. 여당이 때릴수록 국민의힘은 그를 계속 밀어낼 명분을 잃고 한동훈은 야권 전체를 대표해 싸우는 선수처럼 보인다. 여당의 주먹이 한동훈과 보수를 붙여주는 접착제 노릇을 하고 있는 셈이다.

Although he is the leading candidate for the next presidential election, there is still a veto sentiment within the party.

Therefore, we must first stop the ridicule. What needs to be scrutinized is not Han Dong-hoon's appearance, speech, or personality, but his judgment and political choices. We need to record and question, one by one, how his confident "rustling of money envelopes" remark, made while explaining the arrest warrant for former lawmaker Noh Woong-rae during his time as Minister of Justice, ultimately ended up in court. We also need to question what the basis was for him to pressure for an immediate investigation into the DMZ landmine explosion incident, when the military was preparing for a cautious on-site investigation to ensure the safety of its personnel. Accumulating and demonstrating whether Han Dong-hoon's claims were right or wrong, and if wrong, why they were wrong, is a far more painful attack than a hundred repetitions of the phrase "he's being annoying."

It is also important to verify Han Dong-hoon not as a lone attacking forward, but as a political leader. With whom will he do politics? How will he define his relationship with Yoon Suk-yeol? Can he rejoin hands with the People Power Party members who expelled him? Can he share power with those who hold different views from his own?

While Han Dong-hoon's current strength lies in not being fully tied to any faction, as he gets closer to the presidency, this ambiguity can no longer remain solely an asset. A person who wants to become president must ultimately choose people, build a power base, and share their power. As he answers these questions, the true nature of Han Dong-hoon's leadership, which has been hidden until now, will naturally be revealed.

And what needs to be questioned most deeply is his morality. It is at this point that we need to re-examine the party bulletin board incident, which was the decisive reason Han Dong-hoon was expelled from the People Power Party. If we simply dismiss this incident as a byproduct of the power struggle between pro-Yoon and pro-Han factions, we miss an important question for vetting Han Dong-hoon as a presidential candidate.

Separate from legal responsibility, political and moral questions begin here. More fundamental than the intensity of each post is the fact that the family members of a public party leader engaged in political activity, attacking the presidential couple and politicians within the party on an anonymous party bulletin board. Why did family members have to appear in the party leader's political conflicts? Where was the boundary between public politics and private family?

Does Han Dong-hoon have the qualifications and ability to run for president?

Moreover, Han Dong-hoon built his political capital by criticizing, more strongly than anyone, the breakdown of the boundary between public power and private family in the Yoon Suk-yeol administration. Therefore, the same standards should apply to him and his family.

This is also connected to inclusiveness and a politician's ethical consciousness. How one treats people with different opinions, how one fights when conflicts arise with political rivals, and whether one can draw a clear line between political goals and the private sphere of family are all issues that a presidential candidate must naturally be vetted on. A decisive disqualifying factor for a presidential candidate is that Yoon Suk-yeol had Kim Keon-hee, and Han Dong-hoon has greed and a lack of morality.

The vetting of whether a person who claims to be a public figure meets the moral standards that the public demands of a president has not yet properly begun. The current number one approval rating for Han Dong-hoon as a presidential candidate also includes a significant portion contributed by the ruling party's missteps and the main opposition party's incompetence.

The Democratic Party is past the stage where it can defeat Han Dong-hoon with the word “ridiculous.” Instead of ridicule, they should ask questions. Can Han Dong-hoon embrace people different from himself? Can he draw a clear line between family and politics? And can his view of power and morality withstand the standards required of a South Korean president? Above all, the Democratic Party must clearly show the public what future we envision and what reality we must face if Han Dong-hoon becomes president.

If the ruling party continues to ridicule and hurl insults at Han Dong-hoon, the presidential hopeful, without asking fundamental questions, thereby only increasing his stature, the end result could be a ridiculous paradox. It would mean handing over power to the very person they scoffed at as 'ridiculous.' Why must we again feel the same bewilderment and frustration we experienced when an absurd figure like Yoon Suk-yeol suddenly became president?