Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon has accused People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok of blind hostility after Jang publicly ruled out any alliance between them, with the two men each casting the other as the source of division within South Korea's conservative camp.
Han wrote on his Facebook page on the 2nd that Jang had launched harsh criticism of him in a media interview while also outlining a vision for a "member-centered party," according to political sources on the 3rd.
"Even allowing that positions can shift according to one's own political interests, blind hatred is hard to understand," Han wrote. "At a time when we should be joining forces to stop the runaway conduct of the Lee Jae-myung Democratic Party government, he is seriously distorting facts out of personal animosity and hatred to provoke infighting and division. It seems there is a reason he is called a 'strategic asset for the Democratic Party.'"
In an interview with Munhwa Ilbo published the same day, Jang said of a possible alliance with Han: "As long as I am party leader, I think the answer is no." He added: "Looking at the various steps Han Dong-hoon has taken, and the way he has conducted himself on a range of matters since then, including the party members' bulletin board issue, I do not believe an alliance would have a positive effect on our party."
Jang cited the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, the investigation of former President Lee Myung-bak, the impeachment of former President Yoon and the party's general election defeat in questioning Han's responsibility, asking whether "the life he has led truly fits the ideology and values of a conservative party."
Han also pushed back directly against Jang's plan for direct elections by party members. "Leader Jang Dong-hyeok says he will drive out those who do not fight," Han said. "Conservative supporters do not simply want a fight — they want to fight and win. Jang's approach cannot win." He added: "I will continue to join forces to block this Democratic Party government's runaway conduct and to win."
Han has long argued that a decision-making structure driven by the sentiment of party members may fail to reflect broader public opinion. In an interview with Seoul Economic Daily last month, he said: "The idea that party sentiment matters more than public sentiment is wrong, because it is a distorted form of representation. The current political landscape has a deformed structure in which you can only take control of the party by not following public opinion." A member-centered party, he argued, could instead entrench an internal power structure detached from public opinion and lead to a vicious cycle in which opposing factions are excluded each time party leadership changes hands.
To address that problem, Han has called for institutional limits on the party leader's authority over candidate nominations. "The key is building a structure in which party power, or the party leader, cannot intervene arbitrarily in nominations," he said, stressing the need for a bottom-up nomination system.
