Conservative commentator Jo Gap-je, CEO of Chogapje.com, said independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon should found a new party if the People Power Party blocks his return, adding that such a scenario would ultimately set the PPP on a path toward a split.
Speaking Monday on YTN Radio's "Jang Seong-cheol's News Myeongdang," Jo was asked what advice he would give Han if his readmission appeared unlikely. "I would tell him to start a new party," Jo said. "A party that refuses to take Han back is defying public sentiment and, in effect, choosing to side with the forces behind Yoon Suk Yeol's insurrection."
Jo also commented on remarks by People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo, who recently said he would support Han if Han chose to found a new party rather than seek readmission. "I think talk of a new party could well become a real possibility," Jo said.
Jo described the faction led by PPP floor leader Jang Dong-hyeok as aligned with Yoon and the insurrection. "The Jang Dong-hyeok forces are, in effect, the Yoon Suk Yeol forces — they can be seen as the insurrection forces," he said. "Add to that the election-fraud conspiracy theorists, and you have two groups that simply cannot coexist in the same party over the long term. It's impossible."
"They must separate," Jo said. He predicted that either those dissatisfied with the Jang faction's grip on the party would break away to form a new one, or rank-and-file members would rise up and drive the faction out. "Ultimately, the two sides will part ways. In that process, a new party could emerge, a split could happen — all sorts of things will unfold," he said.
On concerns that a conservative split would cost the bloc elections, Jo said the Korean political landscape requires those who are fundamentally incompatible to go their separate ways. "There are two years left until the 2028 general election — that's enough time," he said. "They don't have to split now; it could happen six months before the vote."
Jo also turned his criticism on Ahn, saying the lawmaker had reversed positions he had long held. "He shifted to criticizing Han Dong-hoon this year, and I think that is the wrong choice — one that runs against the tide of history and the public sentiment expressed in the recent election," Jo said.
He added that anyone criticizing Han should, in the interest of balance, also criticize PPP leader Jang. "You should have called for Jang to step down. Then criticizing Han would have been balanced," Jo said.
Meanwhile, Jo also weighed in on the PPP's response the night of the Dec. 3 emergency martial law declaration. "If more than 60 lawmakers had joined the vote that night, as then-party leader Han Dong-hoon instructed, the PPP would not be in the predicament it faces today," he said. "Conversely, if everyone had followed floor leader Choo Kyung-ho's lead and gone to party headquarters — with not a single member participating in the vote — the PPP would by now have been dissolved as an insurrection party."
thanks@heraldcorp.com
