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Han Dong-Hoon was once considered the right man of the South Korean president
Han Dong-Hoon returned to the dinner house in Seoul on December 3, scanning the radio, when he heard the news: President Yoon Suk-Yeol was preparing to pronounce an emergency address.
Han, then the leader of the Power Party of Yoon (PPP), was widely considered as one of the nearest presidents. However, it was Han’s first index that Yoon was about to do something unprecedented.
At midnight, the president had plunged the country into a political maelstrom, declaring martial law as part of an self-proclaimed attempt to eliminate the “anti-state forces” and the sympathizers of North Korea.
“When I learned the news for the first time in martial law, I said to myself:” We have to stop it, because if it is not raised the same evening, a bloodbath could occur “,” said Han to BBC Korean.
“The fear and terror that the hard -haired achievements of South Korea could suddenly collapse were overwhelming.”
Shortly after the announcement of Yoon, the leader of the Democratic Party of the opposition organized a live flow urging people to meet in protest outside the building of the National Assembly in the center of Seoul.
Thousands of people responded, competing with the police and blocking the military units while the opposition legislators rushed into the assembly building, climbing on fences and walls in a desperate attempt to block the order of Yoon.
Han was among them.
Getty Images
The agents invaded in the National Assembly in the early hours of December 4, while the legislators rushed to enter
The edict of martial law at the end of the night seemed to come from nowhere. It was, and remains, not very clear who, in Yoon’s party, supported or even known the move before it was done. But in the hours that followed, Han would help direct a successful attempt to overthrow Yoon’s order and raise it.
A few weeks later, he would also play a key role in disgraced president – a decision that would see him mark a “traitor” by traditional PPP members, and finally lead to his resignation as a party leader.
Han says that he has “no regret” to cancel the attempted Martial law of Yoon, insisting that he “would again choose the same thing”.
But in the eyes of many people, his subsequent decision to dismiss the president that he had helped to be elected was a surprising heel tour for someone in the past as a right arm of Yoon.
“We have lived so much for many years,” said Han about his relationship with Yoon.
“I find the current situation extremely painful and regrettable. The president and I worked in good faith for the improvement of our country – however I must say that I deeply regret the way things have proven to be.”
“Betrayal”
For years, Han and Yoon were inseparable allies. Both having attended the law of law of the National University of Seoul, the best university in South Korea, the two have forged a close link as prosecutors while investigating corruption in the country’s power rooms.
Han acquired political importance when Yoon was narrowly elected the president in May 2022 after defeating his opponent by less than 1% of the vote.
Yoon appointed Han as Minister of Justice and then entrusted him with the key role of the President of the Emergency Contrehensures Committee for the PPP, and became the leader of the ruling party at the age of 50.
Yoon’s office time was besieged by scandals and political failures – in particular its loss of landslide against the Democratic Party of the opposition last April.
The result of these legislative elections was largely considered as a vote of non-confidence against Yoon and made it a lame president.
For most of the Yoon administration, the PPP conservative base was enthusiastic about Han. The lawyer who became a politician quickly became a probable candidate for the next presidential election, initially scheduled for 2027.
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Yoon Suk Yeol (L) and Han Dong-Hoon (R) were close political allies for years
Now, while the growing probability of an election in 2025 is looming in the middle of the fallout from the attempt at Yoon’s unhappy martial law, Han’s reputation is largely defined by the way he acted during and after this fateful night.
While some still consider him a fresh and promising political figure, many consider him as having betrayed the very president who had pursued his career.
In the weeks which followed the orders of the aborted martial law of Yoon, the besieged president Curry favorable among the rights of the PPP by refusing to give in political terrain.
While he apologized for the events of December 3, he refused to resign, rather by sobling in his official residence in defiance of the calls for his dismissal.
He joined his base and defended his decision by playing on the baseless fears that the country was in danger.
It is these loyalist faithful of Yoon who would come to turn against Han.
Although he rejected the Declaration of the Martial Law of Yoon on December 3, Han initially opposed the motion of dismissal presented against the president by the political opposition of South Korea – defending himself with almost all the other members of the PPP to boycott the first vote on December 7.
A few days later, Han changed course. It was after allegations were emerged that during the attempted martial law, Yoon had ordered the arrest of key political figures – including Han -. In allegiance with his loved ones, Han launched his full support behind a second and finally an attempt at successful indictment, Evina Yoon as president.
“I wanted nothing more than for this government to succeed,” Han told the BBC, reflecting on the storm of conviction which then followed by its own rows of parties.
“I first asked for an early resignation plan for the president-a plan that I am continuing, but which has finally failed,” he adds.
“I am deeply painful by the result and I sympathize those who remain unconvinced and my heart broken. Nevertheless, I believe that it was a necessary decision for the continuous progress and development of South Korea.”
The return
Yoon has been suspended from his presidential functions and is currently investigating an insurrection accusations. Han, on the other hand, resigned as PPP chief in mid-December, arguing that although Yoon’s dismissal was painful, he did not regret his decision.
During the two months that followed, Han said that he took the time to “think quietly” to know if he could have done more for such a turbulent period for South Korea.
“And I wrote a book,” he adds: a memoir, entitled “The People Come First”, which tells the two weeks following the declaration of the Martial law of Yoon.
It is not surprising that the book has become a bestseller: after all, it claims to be a first-hand story of the events that have already been among the most dramatic in the political history of South Korea. He struck the shelves on February 26, a day after the Constitutional Court held his last hearing on the trial of the dismissal of Yoon.
He also refers to Han’s future ambitions. The publication of a memoir is considered a common first step in the launch of a political campaign in South Korea, and some believe that “people come first” underline Han’s hopes to present themselves as the presidential candidate of the PPP, if the court descends Yoon and triggers an early election.
BBC News
Han Dong-Hoon denies that her book is a “political maneuver”
In the 384 pages of the book, Han also discusses the need for constitutional reform and suggests that if he had to become president, he would change the five -year presidential mandate from South Korea to four years.
If he chooses to run, the memoirs is used to remind the South Koreans where he is on crucial questions – and that he is no longer an ally of a disgrace president.
As it stands, the chances seem against him. A recent survey revealed that Han’s approval note to become the next president was seated 6% – a fraction of the 22% note that he marked in January 2024. The decline of his political fortune was aggravated by criticisms within the PPP, which accuses him of not protecting his former party and the president.
But Han plays the suggestion that his memoirs are intended for a political tool.
“I published a book in which I honestly express what I experienced and thought during these events,” he told the BBC. “I do not come back with a specific political maneuver, but simply to share this message with you all.”
Another message that Han seems eager to share is that of the contrition of the inhabitants of South Korea. He does not regret voting to dismiss his president and his former ally, he insists, but he regrets this.
“Yoon imposed martial law, and I think it was a bad act – which does not align itself with the principles of liberal democracy,” he said. “As head of the ruling party who put this president in office, I want to express my deepest excuses for the people.”
“I’m really sorry that our actions and the reactions we displayed have injured people. I think we have to overcome and resolve this crisis.”
