The light and shade of Han’s political challenge

Choi Hoon
The author is the chief editor of the JoongAng Ilbo.

Last week’s unusual stock winner was the preferred stock of Daesang Holdings, whose price hit the upper ceiling throughout the week. The cause was a picture of Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon, who is expected to make a political debut in the April 10 parliamentary election, posing for a photo with “Squid Game” star Lee Jung-jae after dining together. The odd couple are close friends from Hyundai Senior High School in Gangnam, a posh district in Seoul, and the actor’s long-term girlfriend is the second largest shareholder of Daesang Holdings.

Han was assigned to his first job at the Seoul District Prosecutors’ Office on May 1, 2001. Twenty-one years later, he was appointed justice minister in May after President Yoon Suk Yeol, a former prosecutor general, was inaugurated. Some had been surprised by the choice. Yoon reportedly told his acquaintances that he wished to relieve Han of “the sword” after his tough judiciary battles. Some were reminded of U.S. President John F. Kennedy appointing his brother Robert as his attorney general despite controversy. Former President Moon Jae-in also seated his confidante Cho Kuk and Choo Mi-ae as justice ministers to lengthen his legacy, but the choices only backfired.

Han was a no-nonsense prosecutor. Even his boss, Yoon, found him too rigid and tough with his cases. Some say he listens to no one except Yoon. Han did well academically at school but did not back away from fights. His stylishness with matching scarfs or ties — and fashionable eyeglasses and bags — often went viral. How much of a wave he makes at the race could influence the outcome of the general election in April.

The 50-year popular minister is in high demand as a reliever for the struggling People Power Party (PPP). According to a recent Gallup Korea poll, Han came first among future presidential hopefuls in the governing party with an approval rating of 16 percent and second only to Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung at 19 percent.

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon answers questions from lawmakers of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly on Aug. 21. [KIM HYUN-DONG]

Han earned approval from conservatives with his public defiance against the DP and its controversial leader Lee Jae-myung on the National Assembly podium. He paid no respect to the political grammar of the legislature. Some found his straightforwardness quite fresh and clever, which could only come from self-confidence. Others found him arrogant and disrespectful. The PPP is relying on his battling skills built through his 21-year prosecutorial career to work magic on the election field.

The brighter the light, the darker the shadow. More than half, or 54 percent, of Han’s supporters are aged 60 or older. They chose a younger and newer face over long-conservative political survivors like Hong Joon-pyo, Oh Se-hoon and Won Hee-ryong. Support from voters in their 20s, 30s and 40s for Han stops at 6 percent, 12 percent, and 10 percent, respectively. While 41 percent of PPP supporters overwhelmingly supported Han, only one percent of DP supporters cheered for Han. Forty-two percent of those who approve of Yoon’s job as president root for Han, but only 3 percent of those who disapprove of the president’s performance support Han. Worse, polls show people betting on the PPP winning a majority in the upcoming election at 51 percent, far above the 35 percent who expect the opposite result. Such environments are challenging for a political rookie.

There is a longstanding maxim in politics: smart people often turn dumb when they join politics. In 2013, a team of Yale Law School researchers tested 1,000 Americans on their political views and math skills to pose a set of brainteasing questions. They were asked about the relationship of a ban on handguns with crime data of cities with or without the ban. Being good at math didn’t just fail to help partisans converge on the right answer, but it actually drove them further apart. People weren’t reasoning to get the right answer; they were reasoning to get the answer they wanted to be right, which shows the smarter the person, the dumber the politics make them, according to journalist Ezra Klein.

How ‘clever Han’ can appeal to the bulky 30-percent centrists will determine the election outcome. The life of a prosecutor and politician is the opposite. Politics is a grey zone without a clear line between the bad and good. There is no clear answer. A prosecutor would not compromise with a suspect. But politicians must always seek second-best — and second-worst — options and exercise the art of balance.

Han may have to uphold the mission to defeat DP. But he cannot have a future if he merely indulges die-hard rightists. In politics, balance is everything. Han must discover his own practical agenda for the future if he wishes to be the answer to the times’ call for fresh inspiration and innovative politics.