Expelled from his party, Han Dong-hoon storms back with Busan by-election win

Han Dong-hoon, the former People Power Party (PPP) leader who was expelled from the party in January, won a National Assembly by-election in Busan's Buk-A constituency early Thursday, claiming the first parliamentary seat of his political career.

Han, who ran as an independent after his expulsion, defeated Democratic Party candidate Ha Jung-woo and the PPP's Park Min-shik in a tight three-way race, a result widely seen as reviving his standing in conservative politics.

With all the ballots counted as of 8:22 a.m. Thursday, Han had 42.96 percent of the vote, ahead of Ha's 41.26 percent, a margin of 1.7 percentage points. Park trailed with 15.76 percent.

"I sincerely thank the great citizens of Buk District, who with this historic win have opened the way to the district's future and to rebuilding conservatism," Han said in his victory speech. 

"I will develop Buk District, rebuild the conservative block and rein in the reckless drive of the Lee Jae Myung administration to restore balance in Korea. I feel once again just how fearsome and how great the will of the people is."

His wife, lawyer Jin Eun-jeong, who campaigned at his side, sat next to him in the campaign's vote counting room.

The contest stayed too close to call until the final stretch. Many had doubted that Han, an independent, could overcome two better-positioned rivals: Ha, who carried the full backing of the governing camp and was strategically nominated to the district after stepping down as senior presidential secretary for AI and future planning, and Park, a two-term former lawmaker for the area. 

Han appeared to struggle early on but found an opening when Ha was hit by two controversies in quick succession, one over footage of him shaking out his hand after greeting voters and a second, days later, when Ha told an elementary school student to call him oppa, a familiar term a younger woman uses for an older man. Both fed an image of an unprepared newcomer.

"With the conservative base divided, Han pulled it off entirely on his own individual appeal," a PPP representative said.

Han's possible return to the PPP is expected to become the dominant question now that he has won a seat. 

"I will definitely return to the PPP," Han said repeatedly during the campaign. 

He was stripped of his membership in January, expelled under PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok over the so-called party bulletin board scandal, which involved posts criticizing former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife on the party's online membership board. Jang remains opposed to letting him back in.

His footing inside the party is also expected to strengthen. Han entered politics in earnest in December 2023 as the PPP's interim leader, but as his feud with Yoon deepened, he clashed with the then president and the pro-Yoon faction at every turn.

"Since Han ran on the banner of rebuilding the conservative block, the impact of his victory on the party is bound to be significant," a PPP representative said.

With no clear next-generation standard-bearer in the party, some now place Han among the ranks of presidential contenders. Around 16 PPP lawmakers, including Bae Hyun-jin, Park Jeong-hun and Jung Yeon-wook, are counted as members of the pro-Han faction.

Uniting a fractured conservative bloc remains the harder task for Han, who hopes to lead the opposition, as many PPP lawmakers remain hostile to him. 

"With Han entering the Assembly, the 'anti-Han' forces critical of him could consolidate even more firmly," a senior PPP lawmaker said.

A floor leader election is set for mid-June, after floor leader Song Eon-seog's term ends, and many expect it to sharpen the power struggle between lawmakers from the conservative stronghold encompassing the North and South Gyeongsang provinces and neighboring cities and the pro-Han faction.

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.

BY KIM GYU-TAE, RYU HYO-RIM [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]