Conservatives Clash Over Han and Lee... Power Struggle Drives Approval Ratings Down

Attacks Over the Staged Assault Incident
and Lawmaker Han's Actions During the December 3 Martial Law

The conservative opposition bloc is engaged in an intense internal dispute. The controversy centers around the fate of Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, the 'staged attack incident' involving former Reform Party Busan mayoral candidate Jung Ihan, and issues related to independent lawmaker Han Donghoon. Amid these disputes, the approval ratings for the conservative opposition, which had been on the rise for a while, are now showing signs of decline or stagnation.

On July 13, the camp of Park Hyungjun, former People Power Party Busan mayoral candidate, issued a statement urging the Reform Party to "stop spreading conspiracy theories" regarding suspicions about the staged attack incident. This statement was aimed at remarks made by Lee Junseok, leader of the Reform Party, who said, "We know who and from which side created the circumstances for Jung to pursue a single candidacy."

Yonhap News Agency

The conservative opposition bloc is waging a war of words over whether the Reform Party had prior knowledge of the incident. On July 10, one lawmaker stated, "The key issue is when the police and the Reform Party became aware that it was a staged incident." Shin Dongwook, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, also commented that day, "Before speculating about the possibility of collusion, there should be a credible explanation."

Discord within the opposition has also deepened over controversies regarding Han's actions during the 12·3 Martial Law. Representative Ahn Cheolsoo of the People Power Party testified in court during the trial of former floor leader Chu Kyungho (now mayor of Daegu), who is accused of obstructing the vote to lift martial law, stating that "it was Han who instructed people to gather at party headquarters first, instead of the National Assembly main chamber."

Regarding this, Representative Ahn commented the previous day, "Why should the history of blocking the 12·3 Martial Law be turned into the heroic narrative of a single individual?" He added, "I officially oppose Han's reinstatement into the party." Lee, the party leader, also stated, "Martial law cannot be anyone's political nourishment," and "We must be wary of those who would go so far as to commit perjury for its sake."

Yonhap News Agency

The debate over Jang's future also shows no signs of resolution. Instead of responding, Jang has continued with outside activities focused on the recent ballot shortage crisis. Chief spokesperson Park Sunghoon told reporters that day, "Reflecting the public's voice within the institutional framework greatly enhances our negotiating power."

Observers note that this fierce infighting is aimed at securing dominance within the conservative bloc, both in terms of party leadership and future presidential bids. Each side is appealing to either the hardline or moderate conservative base in a bid to gain the upper hand. As internal strife intensifies, the opposition's approval ratings—which had been rising since the local elections—are now declining and stagnating.

According to a survey commissioned by Energy Economy News and conducted by Realmeter on July 9 and 10, support for the People Power Party stood at 38.1%, down 2.2 percentage points from the previous week, while the Reform Party remained at 3.7%. The survey was conducted nationwide among 1,002 respondents using automated wireless response (ARS). The margin of error is ±3.1 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For more details, refer to the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.