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Stuck in a family feud in the middle of crisis

Published: 26 Nov. 2024, 19:48

The fierce internal battle over who really posted hundreds of online comments criticizing President Yoon Suk Yeol in the official chat room of the governing People Power Party (PPP) has crossed the point of no return. The problem is that the online comments were posted by PPP leader Han Dong-hoon and his family members. Rep. Kim Meen-geon, a female member of the Supreme Council, asked Han if he would still file a complaint with the police if she had posted a message demanding Han’s resignation.

In reaction, Han urged Kim to check the facts first. After Kim said she already read a news report, Han rebutted, “Show me the article!” The tussle was immediately followed by ferocious attacks and counterattacks from pro-Han and pro-Yoon members of the party. We wonder if the PPP really can afford such a fight amid tough challenges from home and abroad.

The internal feud can be resolved if Han just says none of his family members posted such comments. Pro-Yoon members of the party wonder why he doesn’t do that. They could be right. But the PPP leader also doesn’t have a legal obligation to clarify who posted such messages. In other words, it’s just a matter of political determination.

However, lawmakers close to Han linked the attack on him to “the need for his opponents to drag him down from his seat” even though anonymity is guaranteed for posts in the chat room. Their logic also sounds weird. We wonder why Han, a former prosecutor and former justice minister, still adheres to legal logic rather than addressing the issue politically. Han is convinced that most of those who criticize him are related to power broker Myung Tae-kyun who exposed the shocking power abuse scandal involving the first lady.

In the meantime, the conservative government and party’s crusade to change themselves came to a halt. The initiatives over volatile issues — such as a tariff war triggered by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, the ongoing medical crisis from the president’s bold move to drastically increase the medical school admissions quota and the deepening economic pain of the self-employed — has been taken by the Democratic Party (DP).

The public may have found weird the farce of senior DP lawmakers shedding tears after their boss was found not guilty of subornation of perjury in his first trial on Monday. But the public will certainly find the evolving internal division of the PPP more dumbfounding.

It’s not the time for the governing party to be engrossed in such a self-harming fight. We hope the two factions of the PPP devote themselves to improving people’s livelihood and reforming themselves before it’s too late.