The politics of the hunger strike

Home > Opinion > Columns

The politics of the hunger strike

Published: 22 Jan. 2026, 00:01

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

Chin Jung-kwon

The author is a professor at Kwangwoon University.

People Power Party (PPP) leader Jang Dong-hyeok has launched a hunger strike in what appears, at first glance, to be a sudden move. The timing, however, is telling. His decision came immediately after the party’s ethics committee voted to expel former leader Han Dong-hoon, prompting intense speculation inside and outside the party about Jang’s true motives.

Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the People Power Party, right, speaks with Lee Jun-seok, head of the Reform Party, who visited Jang’s hunger strike site in the National Assembly Rotunda Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, on Jan. 21. Jang marked the seventh day of his fast, demanding acceptance of a “dual special counsel” probe into the Unification Church and nomination donation allegations. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

There are broadly two ways to view a politician’s hunger strike. One is cynical. “Once someone lies down and starts fasting, anyone who raises questions about responsibility or calls for resignation becomes the villain.” Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party made this remark in 2019 when watching then–Liberty Korea Party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn’s hunger strike. The other view is more charitable. “When someone resorts to extreme measures, it is an attempt to demonstrate sincerity through physical suffering.” That, Lee said in 2026, while observing Jang’s hunger strike.

In truth, there is little difference between the Liberty Korea Party’s conduct after Park Geun-hye’s impeachment and the PPP’s behavior after Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment. Yet the evaluations swung from one extreme to the other. I prefer to interpret this shift as evidence that Lee Jun-seok’s own character has matured over the past seven years.

Is Jang’s hunger strike an act of self-preservation in the face of a leadership crisis, or a gesture of self-sacrifice meant to halt the ruling camp’s excesses? The truth likely lies somewhere between these poles. In any case, the party’s ruling faction has praised the move as a “divine stroke.” In one sense, that assessment is fair. As soon as the hunger strike began, senior party figures began visiting the protest site, and Jang’s shaky leadership, rattled by the fallout from Han’s expulsion, quickly regained a degree of stability.

But surely the target of a hunger strike cannot be the party’s own former leader. Was this move also a masterstroke against the Democratic Party (DP)? That seems doubtful. The fact that talk of an “exit strategy” has already surfaced suggests confusion about what to do next.

PPP lawmakers in their second term have reportedly urged floor leader Song Eon-seog to accept a special counsel investigation into Shincheonji, a fringe religious group in Korea. That demand, originally made by the DP, would combine Shincheonji with the Unification Church probe. The party leader is fasting, yet the opposition’s agenda is being advanced. Matters have become even more tangled over the special counsel investigation into nomination donations involving Kim Byung-kee and Kang Sun-woo. As the party sought to attack DP corruption, former PPP lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo suddenly stepped in, exposing his party’s own nomination practices. Once investigations begin, the party will not emerge unscathed.

Caught between pressure from the DP and Hong, the edge of Jang’s confrontation with the ruling camp has dulled. Yet he cannot easily end a hunger strike that began with such solemn resolve. His plea for presidential senior secretary Hong Ik-pyo to visit the protest site was almost painful to watch. Even if Hong were to come, it is unclear what he could offer. Can anyone imagine Jung Chung-rae’s Democratic Party making concessions to the People Power Party? Like Hwang Kyo-ahn’s hunger strike before it, Jang’s protest is likely to end without tangible results.

That does not mean the hunger strike is meaningless. It has clearly helped consolidate conservative support. First- and second-term lawmakers, local government heads, former presidential hopefuls, former leader Hwang Kyo-ahn and even Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party have voiced support. But the effect is unlikely to last. Jang appears firmly committed to expelling Han Dong-hoon. The energy mobilized through the hunger strike will be used to carry out that decision. Kim Min-soo, a member of the party’s supreme council, has already begun laying the groundwork, saying most do not believe expulsion is excessive and that even dissenting views are fading.

Once the hunger strike phase passes and expulsion becomes reality, the PPP will plunge back into severe internal conflict. Looking back, it will be clear that nothing improved after the hunger strike, and that conditions may have worsened.

Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the People Power Party, wipes away tears at his hunger strike site in the National Assembly Rotunda Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, on Jan. 21, after receiving encouragement from party members. [YONHAP]

Jang has wrapped himself in the armor of “Yoon again” supporters who defended martial law and opposed impeachment. Those inside the party who called for a clean break from Yoon were pushed out. The result has been a deeper contamination by the far right. This is not merely a personal clash between current and former leaders. Beneath it lies a fracture within the conservative base itself, driven by social and demographic change. The problem is that the PPP has lost the capacity to mediate that divide.

One party lawmaker put it bluntly when arguing for a break with Yoon: “Let us endure three months of being cursed by our supporters.” That is the correct answer. Political leadership is not about riding the base for personal survival, but about persuading it for the sake of the party. True leadership is not achieved through clever tactics hailed as “divine strokes,” but by honestly confronting the roots of crisis, presenting a credible vision for overcoming it and pushing that vision forward with courage despite criticism.

The hunger strike has unified conservatives, but it has also stopped the clock on reform. Party loyalty, a Soviet term, has become the guiding principle, and “there is no center” the campaign slogan. Yet election outcomes are ultimately decided by that very center that is said not to exist.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.