SEOUL, Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), said Sunday he will “do his job,” dismissing the presidential office’s reported request for his resignation amid rows over the first lady’s luxury bag allegations and election nominations.
Presidential chief of staff Lee Kwan-sup met with Han earlier in the day and delivered a request for him to step down from the chairmanship of the PPP’s emergency leadership committee, according to ruling party lawmakers.
“The path that (I’ve decided) to walk for the people, I will do my job,” Han said in a text message to reporters, in response to a media report that the presidential office shared mainstream PPP members’ request for Han’s resignation.
The office of President Yoon Suk Yeol appears to be displeased with Han’s reaction to allegations that first lady Kim Keon Hee inappropriately received a luxury bag valued at around 3 million won (US$2,200) from a Korean American pastor in 2022. Some reform-minded PPP members called for an apology fr
om her.
In regard to the luxury bag allegations, Han, one of Yoon’s close aides, said “there are things the public might be worried about” or “it is an issue that needs to be thought about from the public’s standards,” though he said the incident occurred with a premeditated “hidden camera trap.”
A controversy over the fairness of election nominations erupted after Han publicly supported a bid by Kim Gyeong-ryul, an outspoken member of the PPP’s emergency committee, to run in a district in Mapo, western Seoul, against a heavyweight sitting opposition lawmaker for the April general elections.
The move spawned backlash from some PPP members that Han, a former justice minister, ignored the party’s election nomination process with the so-called “private nomination.”
Yoon’s office said Sunday “the issue of Han’s resignation is not a matter in which the presidential office would involve itself.”
A separate media report earlier said Yoon has withdrawn his anticipation and support for Han over the controversy su
rrounding election nominations.
In regard to the report, a presidential official told Yonhap News Agency that Yoon has “strong” principles of supporting fair, transparent and systemic election nominations.
Yoon’s office said Friday if the party reviews “strategically made nominations,” there should be certain principles and standards so that it does not look like giving preferential favors.
Source: Yonhap News Agency