It still feels like midnight.

Despite pushing through the expulsion of former party leader Han Dong-hoon, a move widely seen as settling scores with an internal rival, the situation for Yoon Suk Yeol has not improved. As the People Power Party’s pro-Yoon leadership moved to oust Han, Yoon himself stood in court facing prosecutors’ request for the death penalty on insurrection charges. The contrast underscored the futility of internal purges, exposing a party consumed by factional conflict while its former leader’s legal jeopardy deepened, with no political or legal relief in sight. [PARK YONG-SEOK]