People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo (from right), independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon and Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo (from right), independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon and Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok [Yonhap]

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon has clashed with Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok after a separate dispute with People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo, urging the Reform Party to clarify when it learned that a purported attack on one of its candidates was staged. The activity comes amid speculation about Han's possible return to the PPP and has drawn attention to his efforts to raise his political profile across multiple fronts.

According to political circles Saturday, Han wrote on Facebook on Thursday that candidate Jung Seok-jun "received more votes than he would have otherwise because of public sympathy over the attack, and the people of Busan were deceived into casting their ballots — effectively having their voting rights stolen."

Han added that had the staged nature of the attack been known before the election, "far fewer Busan residents would have voted for candidate Jung Seok-jun, and the outcome of the election could have been different." He said the key question was whether police had determined the incident was fabricated before the election, and that if they had done so without disclosing it, "that would constitute police interference in the election."

Han went on to say that if police had known the attack was staged before the election, they should have made that public, and that the Reform Party should have "confessed the fact and withdrawn the candidate."

Lee rebuffed the claims, saying it was inconceivable that Jung would have informed the party, and noting that police had officially stated they had not notified the party either. "Some politicians may raise allegations about this, but we answer clearly: we could not have known, and we did not know," Lee said.

Lee also criticized Han's repeated references to the incident, saying that while it was fair to say the party had been deceived by Jung, Han's continued focus on the matter "must be for other political reasons." "I know what his original profession was, but I wish he would not look at things with such a crooked eye," Lee said.

Han also kept up his dispute with PPP lawmaker Ahn. Ahn had testified in court that, to his knowledge, it was Han — then PPP leader — who first instructed party lawmakers to gather at party headquarters rather than the National Assembly on the night of the Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration. Han called the testimony a distortion of the facts. Ahn fired back, insisting his testimony was truthful, and Han countered by calling it "false agitation," keeping the exchange going.

Ahn posted on Facebook a document listing the assembly notices from that night, saying: "I stated only the facts — that it is my recollection that it was then-PPP leader Han Dong-hoon who first called for members to gather at party headquarters on the day of the martial law declaration." He also cited a document distributed by the floor leader's office on Dec. 6, which he said showed it was the floor leader who first summoned lawmakers to the National Assembly after the martial law declaration.

Han responded that the process of rallying lawmakers at party headquarters before heading to the National Assembly "is described in detail in my book," and said he would "firmly respond to false agitation, such as claims that the book contains no such account."

Political observers interpret Han's recent moves as an effort to raise his profile while keeping the door open to rejoining the PPP. Since entering the Assembly, Han has co-sponsored legislation with PPP lawmakers and attended a series of forums and debates hosted by party members, steadily expanding his ties within the party.

However, a spokesperson for Han's office cautioned against reading too much into the activity, saying his comments on the Dec. 3 emergency martial law were intended to set the record straight on the facts, and that his remarks on Busan were tied to constituency matters. "These were not statements made with any political intent in mind," the spokesperson said.


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