(LEAD) PPP-ex-leader expulsion
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| ▲ Han Dong-hoon (C), former leader of the main opposition People Power Party, ignores a reporter's question during his visit to a theater in Seoul on Jan. 28, 2026. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the main opposition People Power Party, announces the party's decision during a supreme council meeting on Jan. 29, 2026. (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Supporters of Han Dong-hoon, former leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), hold a rally in front of the National Assembly in Seoul on Jan. 29, 2026, to demand the PPP repeal its decision to expel Han. (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) PPP-ex-leader expulsion
(LEAD) PPP expels ex-leader Han Dong-hoon over online posts amid internal feud
(ATTN: ADDS more details, comments in paras 4-7, photo)
By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Jan. 29 (Yonhap) -- The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) said Thursday it has expelled former party chief Han Dong-hoon over his family's posting of defamatory comments about former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife on a party bulletin board.
The party's supreme council finalized the decision about two weeks after its ethics committee voted to oust Han for the conduct it said had damaged the party's image.
Han's family has been accused of posting derogatory comments about Yoon, who was removed from office following his failed declaration of martial law in December 2024, and his wife, Kim Keon Hee, on the PPP's website.
Han, once regarded as a close confidant of the ousted president, supported Yoon's impeachment following his brief declaration of martial law in December 2024, and subsequently stepped down as party leader.
Han has apologized for the controversy surrounding the posts but remained defiant, framing the expulsion decision by the ethics committee as "manipulation" and "political retaliation."
The decision marks the culmination of prolonged internal strife within the conservative party ahead of the June local elections, as party leader Jang Dong-hyeok seeks to rally support from conservative voters in efforts to rebrand the party and overhaul its image tainted by Yoon's martial law bid.
Jang presided over the supreme council meeting, his first since returning to official duties following an eight-day hunger strike. He staged a hunger strike demanding a special counsel investigation into allegations involving the Unification Church and bribery claims related to ruling party nominations.
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