Han Dong-hoon (left), the main contributor to Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment and the birth of the Lee Jae-myung administration, is an enchufado. [Composite image]

The People Power Party, in a resolution after a recent general meeting of lawmakers, stated, "We clearly oppose all claims demanding the political return of former President Yoon" and "We once again apologize to the public with sincere regret for the great confusion and disappointment caused by the erroneous declaration of martial law on December 3rd."

During the general meeting, Chairman Jang Dong-hyuk remained silent, while lawmakers who received nominations under Chairman Han Dong-hoon's leadership argued that Jang Dong-hyuk should withdraw Han Dong-hoon's disciplinary action. Lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin demanded an apology from Jang Dong-hyuk, citing the court's acceptance of an injunction regarding her own disciplinary action.

The outcome of the general meeting, driven by the Han faction lawmakers and the silence of other opportunistic lawmakers, precisely aligned with the Democratic Party's frame of a martial law rebellion. It declared the People Power Party as the Democratic Party's second-tier enchufado by desecrating Yoon Suk-yeol's legacy.

The People Power Party is the Democratic Party's Second-Tier Enchufado

While the impeachment motion against Yoon Suk-yeol was initiated by the Democratic Party, the motion's passage in the National Assembly would have been impossible without the affirmative votes of People Power Party lawmakers from the Han faction. Moreover, an investigation into President Yoon Suk-yeol for alleged rebellion could not have proceeded. In essence, Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment was carried out by the People Power Party, not the Democratic Party.

Even if President Yoon Suk-yeol's declaration of martial law due to allegations of election fraud and the Democratic Party's persistent impeachment attempts against high-ranking officials of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration was an undesirable decision, it was a matter for the president to take political responsibility for, not for the People Power Party to be ensnared by the Democratic Party's propaganda frame of martial law as rebellion.

The People Power Party's failure to respond effectively to the Democratic Party's rebellion frame with an opportunistic stance resulted in the first instance court's absurd life imprisonment sentence for Yoon Suk-yeol.

While the ruling Democratic Party fiercely resists with the rebellion frame and intimidates the judiciary, it is inherently impossible for the opposition People Power Party, with its consistent opportunistic attitude, to expect the courts to fight on their behalf.

The People Power Party impeached Yoon Suk-yeol citing his declaration of martial law, leading to his trial for rebellion and a life sentence in the first instance. Despite this, the People Power Party once again tramples on Yoon Suk-yeol and apologizes for the martial law. This is desecration of legacy.

Apologizing for martial law is Yoon Suk-yeol's responsibility, not the People Power Party's. Such apologies only plunge the People Power Party into a deeper mire. There are no undecided voters who will support the People Power Party because they apologized; endless apologies only result in losing the support of disillusioned conservatives.

Undecided voters are opportunists without firm ideologies. They always attach themselves to the stronger side; that is the survival strategy of opportunists. The weak People Power Party, clinging to apologies, will inevitably be shunned by undecided voters.

During President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment trial, with his determined will to resist and the resolute anti-impeachment protests, and the atmosphere of many People Power Party lawmakers defending Yoon Suk-yeol, his approval rating consistently neared 50%.

The Democratic Party unilaterally engages in all sorts of unconstitutional and illegal legislation, and despite numerous allegations of crimes, President Lee Jae-myung's steadfast resilience is due to propaganda and brainwashing. They never apologize. The Democratic Party does not accept the Supreme Court's revocation and remand of the guilty verdict for Lee Jae-myung's violation of election laws.

To prevent potential guilty verdicts in various trials involving Lee Jae-myung, they undermine the separation of powers and the Korean judicial system by pressuring the Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae to resign, demanding hearings, proposing the dismantling of the prosecution, introducing laws on judicial distortion, and proposing lawsuit appeal laws and laws to increase the number of Supreme Court justices. This is the difference between the People Power Party and the Democratic Party.

It is the difference between those who constantly attack and those who repeatedly defend passively. Offense is the best defense, and even the best defense results in a draw; one cannot win by merely defending.

The fact that Chairman Jang Dong-hyuk of the People Power Party accepted the general meeting's resolution to sever ties with Yoon Suk-yeol, followed by Han Dong-hoon and opportunistic People Power Party lawmakers, without delay, to launch a bid for an interim leadership committee and a special election committee, thereby attacking the Jang Dong-hyuk system, is a prime example.

A defensive strategy that does not attack with the resolve to die, but rather compromises, is a formula for certain defeat. This is the lesson of Admiral Yi Sun-sin's saying, "Certain death leads to life; certain life leads to death."

Yoon Suk-yeol's Impeachment Was Effectively Carried Out by the People Power Party, Not the Democratic Party

Why is the People Power Party so weak? It is because most People Power Party lawmakers are opportunists whose sole concern is preserving their positions, with no interest in the safety of the nation and its people. Opportunists are easily swayed by the prevailing winds; they lack the ability and strength to go against the current.

Where does such strength come from? It requires inner strength cultivated through continuous study and intense contemplation. An opportunist disguised as a moderate is an ignorant person lacking study and inner strength.

Moderates are those who do not properly understand the values of the left and right, nor do they know whether they themselves are left or right. People Power Party lawmakers, mostly graduates of top universities and former high-ranking officials, professors, judges, prosecutors, and lawyers, are a group of model students.

They are adept at passively answering given questions but are incapable of actively engaging in fundamental thinking about why things need to be done. Upon graduating from a top university, passing a bar exam, and earning a doctorate, they believe they have achieved their goals. They are satisfied with a level of knowledge that falls far short of even a speck of what is needed.

They have no interest beyond the minimal knowledge required for their livelihood. That is why they are ignorant. Because of their ignorance, they lack philosophy and conviction, and thus become opportunists, not knowing what to do or how to do it. Study is not confined to a specific period in life; life is about accumulating inner strength and tempering the soul through continuous reading and contemplation.

Han Dong-hoon is at the apex of Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment and life sentence for rebellion, and under the leadership of these Han Dong-hoon faction lawmakers, Yoon Suk-yeol's legacy is desecrated once again. Han Dong-hoon is Season 2 of Kim Moo-sung and Yoo Seung-min.

The impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye and her prison sentence for bribery were possible because about sixty betrayers in the People Power Party, including Kim Moo-sung and Yoo Seung-min, sided with the Democratic Party's impeachment motion. Why did they have to impeach a president from their own party? Because they were ignorant.

Ignorant of brainwashing by pro-North Korean leftists and the propaganda of the media that eagerly follows them, they lack the logic to counter it and are easily swayed. Their only reasoning is the vague and opportunistic middle ground. They do not know if they are left or right, nor do they understand the consequences of their actions.

Han Dong-hoon is Season 2 of Kim Moo-sung and Yoo Seung-min

Han Dong-hoon is a leftist. Someone with leftist ideology comes to a conservative party, colludes with the Democratic Party, destroys the conservative party, and ruins the country. Han Dong-hoon is the main contributor to Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment and the birth of the Lee Jae-myung administration.

During his tenure as Minister of Justice, Han Dong-hoon did not properly investigate the various criminal allegations against Moon Jae-in, Lee Jae-myung, and the stooges of the Moon Jae-in administration. As interim chairman and party leader, he constantly destabilized the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, hindered state governance, and aided the Democratic Party.

Han Dong-hoon is an incompetent and ignorant leftist who parasites on the People Power Party based on situational logic. Han Dong-hoon praises Kim Dae-jung, harbors anti-corporate sentiment, and glorifies the May 18 Gwangju armed uprising as a democratization movement.

In order to parasite on the conservative People Power Party, he offers an apology for the investigation into former President Park Geun-hye's abuse of power, which he was pushed into. However, he has never criticized Kim Dae-jung or Roh Moo-hyun and instead respects leftist presidents. He states that Kim Dae-jung demonstrated foresight that pierced the spirit of the times better than any other politician and that implementing Kim Dae-jung's spirit could create a much better Korea.

Kim Dae-jung was someone who disparaged Park Chung-hee's arduous industrialization efforts to create something from nothing. With a flimsy leftist populist economic theory based on dependency theory of South America, he opposed Park Chung-hee's heavy industrial development after Yushin and advocated for light industry to boost domestic consumption, leading to an industrial structure centered on consumer goods.

His argument was that pursuing heavy industry and export-oriented economics was not feasible and would ultimately lead to dependence on advanced capitalist countries.

"Electronic Ballot Counting Machines Introduced in 2002 Following the Kim Dae-jung-Kim Jong-il Summit"

Kim Dae-jung is at the core of the allegations of fraudulent elections in South Korea. Upon arriving at Pyongyang Sunan Airport for the June 15, 2000 Inter-Korean Summit, Kim Dae-jung, breaking security protocols, rode in Kim Jong-il's private car without bodyguards for a 45-minute private conversation.

According to media reports on the content of the private conversation obtained by U.S. intelligence agencies, Kim Jong-il instructed Kim Dae-jung to ensure Roh Moo-hyun became the next presidential candidate for the Democratic Party.

In response to Kim Dae-jung's remark that Roh Moo-hyun's recognition was lower than that of Chung Dong-young or Han Hwa-gap, Kim Jong-il cited Roh Moo-hyun's father's hometown being in Honam and Roh Moo-hyun's father-in-law's background as a former partisan, stating that public opinion and recognition can be overcome through propaganda and saying, "Let's work closely with us on election matters."

As a result of the Kim Dae-jung-Kim Jong-il summit, electronic ballot counting machines were first introduced in 2002, and Roh Moo-hyun, surpassing his competitors in the Democratic Party's presidential primary and the general election, was elected president that December.

The electronic ballot counting system, first introduced during the Kim Dae-jung administration in 2002, was supplied and operated by companies such as Gwanoo Information & Communication, Hantel System, and SK C&C. However, individuals related to these companies were prosecuted for bribery by the National Election Commission.

During the trial, the CEO of the manufacturing company testified that Kim Dae-jung, Lee Hae-chan, and Park Ji-won had ordered the production of fraudulent electronic ballot counting machines, but the prosecution did not investigate.

Subsequently, through the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations, allegations of fraudulent elections have persisted for over 20 years, including the inter-Korean communication network project, suspicions linking the Dasan Group and Korea Electronic Voting Co., Ltd. to leftist regimes, and suspicions of manipulation of the National Election Commission network through Huawei's backdoors. The June 15 Inter-Korean Summit between Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-il is at the center of these issues.

Han Dong-hoon states that the spirit of May 18 is a spirit that defends democracy, and that there is no one who opposes its inclusion in the constitution. He claims that if the spirit of May 18 is included in the preamble of the constitution, the constitution will become much richer and clearer, making it something to be proud of. He states that there is no one opposing the inclusion of the May 18 spirit in the preamble, a matter that the right vehemently opposes.

The group with no opposition is the pro-North Korean leftist forces. This is a passage that starkly reveals Han Dong-hoon's identity. The first Supreme Court ruling declared May 18 as an armed uprising and rebellion incited by Kim Dae-jung, and Kim Dae-jung was sentenced to death for rebellion before being pardoned and reinstated by the Chun Doo-hwan administration.

It was Kim Young-sam who manipulated May 18 from Kim Dae-jung's rebellion to a democratization movement. When the controversy surrounding Roh Tae-woo's 400 billion won slush fund erupted, Kim Young-sam, to conceal the 300 billion won in illegal political funds he received from Roh Tae-woo, created the May 18 Special Act. This act criminalized Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo for rebellion related to December 12 and violations of political fund laws, while suppressing investigations into the illegal political funds received by himself and Kim Dae-jung.

Roh Tae-woo should have revealed that he gave 300 billion won in slush funds to Kim Young-sam and engaged in total warfare, but he cowardly hid it and hoped for leniency from Kim Young-sam. May 18 is an issue with sharp conflict between the left and right. The left does not hesitate to enact unconstitutional legislation to punish those who criticize May 18.

Evidence and circumstances of North Korean military involvement are pouring out through prosecutorial investigation records and testimonies from involved parties. Kwon Young-hae, the Director of the Agency for National Security Planning during the Kim Young-sam administration, testified that during his tenure, he confirmed the existence of a cemetery for North Korean spies and fallen soldiers involved in the May 18 infiltration in Chongjin, and that this is even recorded in North Korean textbooks.

Han Dong-hoon claims that while student activists received kickbacks, he investigated conglomerates. Due to Han Dong-hoon's unreasonable investigation and indictment of Samsung Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Lee Jae-yong was arrested, and while he was unable to focus on management, Samsung Electronics experienced a period of stagnation and faced a crisis.

The Supreme Court ruled not guilty on all 19 counts of breach of trust and market manipulation related to the valuation of shares in the merger of Samsung C&T and Samsung Fashion Institute. Despite the valuation being appropriate according to international practices, the ignorant leftist Han Dong-hoon, with his anti-corporate tendencies, claimed it was illegal for management succession and thus breach of trust.

Despite the Supreme Court's not-guilty verdict, Han Dong-hoon, with shameless audacity, shows no remorse. Instead, he boasts about his investigations into conglomerates and the Park Geun-hye administration's abuse of power case as his "golden age." Most of those indicted for abuse of power, including Supreme Court Chief Justice Yang Seung-taik, high-ranking judges, and three former Directors of the National Intelligence Service under the Park Geun-hye administration, were found not guilty or received minor convictions for offenses through separate investigations by the prosecution.

Han Dong-hoon and the Han faction lawmakers, who are ignorant and opportunistic and betray their own party's president to collude with the Democratic Party, must not be allowed to ruin the People Power Party. The People Power Party must break away from them, shed the stigma of being the Democratic Party's second-tier enchufado that colludes with the pro-North Korean leftist Democratic Party, and be reborn as a true conservative party.

The People Power Party, damaged by Kim Young-sam, the host of pro-North Korean leftism who contributed to the leftward shift of South Korea by punishing Chun Doo-hwan for rebellion and bribery and by fabricating the May 18 Special Act to transform the armed uprising into a democratization movement, must once again embody the authentic conservative party of Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee. It must be reborn as a conservative party that rebuilds South Korea with strong conservative ideology and policies, benchmarking Reagan and Thatcher.

◆ Hwang Doo-hyong

Former Washington Correspondent for Yonhap News Agency

Former Deputy Director of Yonhap News Agency Editorial Bureau