South Korea’s ruling party leader Han Dong-hoon says he is stepping down
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Despite party backlash over his calls for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, Mr Han Dong-hoon said he had no regret in doing so.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
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SEOUL - The leader of South Korea’s ruling People Power Party, Mr Han Dong-hoon, said on Dec 16 that he was stepping down.
Despite party backlash over his calls for President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment,
“I will step down from my position as the chief of the ruling party,” he said in a press briefing held at the National Assembly.
“The collapse of the party’s Supreme Council has made it impossible to carry out my duties. President Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment was painful, but I do not regret my decision,” he added.
The announcement comes nearly five months after he was elected to lead the People Power Party at its national convention held on July 23.
Mr Han had previously said he planned to continue his duties despite calls for his resignation from the mostly pro-Yoon faction within his party. Several ruling party lawmakers claimed that Mr Han should take responsibility for the passage of Mr Yoon’s impeachment motion in the assembly on Dec 14.
However, since all five elected members of the ruling party’s Supreme Council expressed their intent to resign in recent days, Mr Han has faced mounting pressure to step down.
The prosecutor-turned-political novice had pushed for Mr Yoon’s “orderly resignation” and later for ruling party lawmakers to vote in favor of the President’s impeachment in the days leading up to the impeachment by the assembly. The opposition coalition introduced an impeachment motion against Mr Yoon over his botched martial law decree on Dec 3. REUTERS, THE KOREA HERALD/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK
