Han Dong-hoon returns to the top of South Korea's ruling party - what is the first thing that needs to be done to restore the party's strength?

South Korea's ruling party, the People Power Party, held a party convention on the 23rd of this month and elected Han Dong-hoon as its leader. Han was once considered President Yoon Seok-yeol's closest aide, but
The party is currently keeping its distance due to allegations surrounding Yoon's wife. The party suffered a major defeat in the general election in April this year, and Han, who served as the party's top emergency response committee chairman, resigned in order to take responsibility.
However, the opposition parties hold a majority in the Diet, and the party will likely be forced to navigate a difficult path to rebuild itself.
Han is a former member of the Seoul Metropolitan Government, 51 years old. He passed the bar exam while studying at Seoul National University.
He later became a prosecutor. He has been involved in a number of major cases, including the accounting fraud scandal at a subsidiary of the SK Group conglomerate in 2003 and the interference in state affairs scandal under the Park Geun-hye administration that came to light in 2016.
He was in charge of this type of case. He was known as an "elite prosecutor" who held important positions in the prosecution, including as the chief prosecutor of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. President Yoon is also a former member of the prosecution, and Han is said to be President Yoon's closest aide since his time as a prosecutor.
He was appointed Minister of Justice in the Yoon administration. He is popular among conservative voters, and some expect him to be a future presidential candidate. The People Power Party was formed in December last year after the resignation of the previous president due to the party's sluggish approval rating.
As a successor to Pyo, the party appointed Han as the head of the emergency response committee. At the time, with the general election approaching, the party was hoping to attract young people and other parties by appointing Han, who was popular among the masses, to the top of the party.
He wanted to expand support from independent voters and use that to win. At the time, Han said he wanted to "stand on the side of the common people and the weak and prepare for the future of this country."
Han was expected to take on the role of party leader with great expectations, but in January this year, the presidential office demanded his resignation.
The background to this was a disagreement between President Yoon and Han over how to respond to allegations that Kim Gun-Hee had received gifts in excess of the legal limit.
It is believed that the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office questioned Kim on the 20th of this month regarding this allegation. In the end, the ruling party suffered a major defeat in the general election in April. Han said, "The will of the people is always right.
I apologize to the people on behalf of my party for not being worthy enough," he said, and resigned from his position as emergency response committee chairman. With attention focused on Han's future after he retired from the political stage, he announced that he would run for party chairman.
Four candidates, including Han, ran in the leadership election. The party held a party convention in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, near Seoul on the 23rd and elected Han as the new leader. The leadership election was held through a party member vote (8:00-9:00).
The election was decided based on the combined vote share of 60.0% (20%) and the results of a public opinion poll targeting the general public (20%), and Han won by a landslide with 62.8%.
In a speech after his election, Han said, "Party members and the people have chosen change.
"People think that we are not conducting politics that are in line with the public's perspective," he said. He then called for the government to "show itself as being responsive to the public's feelings and changing to meet the public's perspective."
Han will now aim to build a party-wide system in preparation for the 2027 presidential election, but the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo said in an editorial dated the 24th that "Many challenges lie ahead for Chairman Han."
"The most important and urgent task is to restore trust with President Yoon Seok-yeol and rebuild the relationship," he said. As mentioned above, Han is currently said to be keeping a certain distance from President Yoon.
The Chosun Ilbo called for "now being the time for both sides to meet face to face with honesty and sincerity." Both sides appear to recognize the need for this, and President Yoon on the 24th announced that he would be sending Han and other new executive members of the party to the presidential office.
President Yoon shook hands with Han and thanked him. Prior to the dinner, Han met with Hong Cheol-ho, Chief Secretary for Political Affairs at the Blue House, and said, "I am very grateful to you."
I spoke briefly with President Yoon on the phone yesterday, and I told him that I would work for harmony and unity within the party and pursue good politics. The President also encouraged me. I told him that I would do my best.
"Attention is focused on whether Han will be able to bring together the discordant party members and restore its strength.