Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Freedom and Innovation Party, attends the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the largest annual political event for the conservative movement in the United States. [Reuters=Yonhap News]

Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the 'Freedom and Innovation' party, ranked second among right-wing candidates with 9.3% in a public opinion poll released on the 9th regarding suitability for the next presidential election, surpassing Han Dong-hoon, former leader of the People Power Party (9.1%), and following Chang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party (11.3%). 

Among conservatives, the rankings are Chang Dong-hyuk 26.5%, Hwang Kyo-ahn 22.8%, and Han Dong-hoon 14.3%. Hwang Kyo-ahn remains within the margin of error with Chang Dong-hyuk, significantly outpacing Han Dong-hoon. This is the first time Hwang Kyo-ahn has been included in polls for the next presidential election since the Lee Jae-myung administration took office. 

Rises to Second Place Among Right-Wing Leaders

Hwang Kyo-ahn's inclusion in the poll and his immediate rise to second place among right-wing leaders is attributed to his participation in the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the largest annual political event for the conservative movement in the United States, held last month.

CPAC, hosted annually by the American Conservative Union (ACU) since 1974, is the most influential event for the American conservative movement. Hwang Kyo-ahn was invited as an official speaker to deliver a speech, while the main opposition People Power Party did not attend. This led to reports that the US Republican Party views Hwang Kyo-ahn's Freedom and Innovation Party as its conservative political partner in Korea, not the People Power Party. 

Hwang Kyo-ahn is the first Korean to deliver a solo speech at CPAC since former lawmaker Min Kyung-wook in 2021. In particular, during his speech on the main stage, Hwang Kyo-ahn stated that since the emergence of the Lee Jae-myung administration, a bill was once proposed to punish mentioning election fraud with up to 10 years in prison, and a bill to close churches is being pursued, suggesting that the rule of law and the separation of powers have collapsed and Korea is nearing communization. 

Hwang Kyo-ahn called for the passage of a resolution in the U.S. Congress urging the immediate release of President Yoon Suk-yeol. He also urged the Trump administration to intervene in the hacking of cyber election systems, for the U.S. government to impose direct sanctions on those involved in election fraud in Korea, and for the formation of a joint investigation team into allegations of election fraud in both South Korea and the United States. 

In its resolution, CPAC mentioned election manipulation in Korea linked to China and stated, "We express particular concern for front-line democracies facing continuous pressure from communist regimes and proxy forces, such as South Korea, Taiwan, and other countries in the Indo-Pacific region." 

Matt Schlapp, chairman of the ACU, lamented the situation regarding the trial and imprisonment of Yoon Suk-yeol, stating, "Similar to the imprisonment of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, politics has degenerated into a 'legal death match' where defeat in any way results in the loss not only of political office but also of freedom." 

Mike Lindell, a long-time confidant of Trump and a leading figure in investigating alleged electronic election manipulation by the Democratic Party, promised to mobilize his cyber expert team to investigate allegations of electronic election manipulation in Korea and to convey the relevant information to Trump during his meeting with Hwang Kyo-ahn.

The Significance of a Korean's Solo Speech at CPAC

The results of Hwang Kyo-ahn's participation and activities at CPAC align with the demands of right-wing voters that Yoon Suk-yeol's declaration of martial law was a legitimate use of presidential authority to investigate allegations of election fraud, not an act of rebellion. Various opinion polls show that more than half of the public wants an investigation into allegations of election fraud. 

However, the People Power Party denies allegations of election fraud. Instead, they repeatedly apologize for the martial law and even formally sever ties with Yoon Suk-yeol, who has already left the party, essentially desecrating his memory. As disappointed right-wing supporters defect, Chang Dong-hyuk and the People Power Party's approval ratings plummet. The overflow of voters with nowhere to go, compounded by the nomination disputes in local elections such as Oh Se-hoon Again and Lee Jin-sook's cutoff, has led them to Hwang Kyo-ahn. 

Half of Chang Dong-hyuk's support, which was at 20%, has shifted to Hwang Kyo-ahn, and this is just the beginning. Hwang Kyo-ahn's Freedom and Innovation Party can absorb right-wing voters and replace Chang Dong-hyuk and the People Power Party. 

Opinion polls conducted using samples provided by the Election Commission, which are subject to allegations of election fraud, have limitations in accuracy and are suspected of manipulation, but they can indicate trends. The reason why regions like Gangnam in Seoul and Daegu/Gyeongbuk, considered strongholds of the People Power Party, are considered free from election fraud allegations is that if these regions were also manipulated, allegations of election fraud would intensify and become difficult to quell. 

However, with the upcoming June 3rd local elections, various opinion polls show the Democratic Party leading even in Daegu and Gyeongbuk. This suggests that even if election fraud continues, the election fraud faction intends to manipulate the People Power Party's strongholds as well, given the lack of objection from the People Power Party. It remains to be seen whether the People Power Party lawmakers will come to their senses and raise allegations of election fraud only after their own strongholds are taken away. 

Following the People Power Party's declaration of severing ties with Yoon Suk-yeol, right-wing YouTubers who had been blindly supporting Chang Dong-hyuk due to a lack of alternatives now have a justification to abandon Chang Dong-hyuk and the People Power Party with the emergence of Hwang Kyo-ahn as an alternative. 

Chang Dong-hyuk, a political novice, became party leader by defeating People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo, who garnered 41% of the vote in the last presidential election, because he advocated for investigating election fraud allegations and for "Yoon Again," unlike Kim Moon-soo, who preached centrism. There is no reason for right-wing voters to support Chang Dong-hyuk, who has lost his initial conviction. 

Chang Dong-hyuk's media interview a few days ago also caused controversy. His opposition to abolishing unnecessary regulations that stifle the market economy, people's lives, and hinder corporate development, such as actively supporting the renewable energy industry, opposing the repeal of large supermarket regulations, and opposing the abolition of the apartment sale price cap, reflects a left-leaning ideology. 

Just as the left-leaning Han Dong-hoon is clinging to the People Power Party based on situational logic, Chang Dong-hyuk's interview reveals his own identity. Chang Dong-hyuk's left-leaning coming out is not surprising. Unlike the younger generation of teens, 20s, and 30s who were awakened by Yoon Suk-yeol's martial law, the older generations, including those in their 40s, 50s, and 60s, are still largely unable to escape the indoctrination they received from pro-North Korean leftists during their school days. 

Lacking rigorous study and contemplation, and content with limited knowledge for the sake of earning a living, they believe that the so-called 1987 system, which resulted from the propaganda and agitation of pro-North Korean, anti-state forces, is a democratization movement. They expect nothing more from the incompetent and ignorant members of the People Power Party, who don't even know whether they are left-wing or right-wing, regardless of whether Han Dong-hoon or Chang Dong-hyuk is put forward. 

The People Power Party, focused only on defense, is incapable of offense. They are akin to a diligent but desperately incompetent group of model students, solely preoccupied with finding answers to questions posed by their teacher, the Democratic Party. 

Saeumsa, Lee Hwa-young, and Lee Jae-myung All Subject to UN Sanctions

Prosecutor Park Sang-yong, who investigated the Saeumsa North Korea remittance case, claimed in a YouTube appearance that Lee Jae-myung is unable to act against North Korea because he has leverage over Kim Jong-un. Despite North Korea's constant provocations regarding drone incursions and leaflet dispersal, it has remained silent on the allegation that Lee Jae-myung, during his tenure as Governor of Gyeonggi Province, facilitated the transfer of $8 million to North Korea through Saeumsa for Lee Jae-myung's visit. 

The moment North Korea reveals the receipt of $8 million, Lee Jae-myung would be subject to an immediate investigation for foreign exchange crimes. Lee Hwa-young, former Vice Governor of Gyeonggi Province, was sentenced to 7 years and 8 months in prison by the Supreme Court for his involvement in Saeumsa's illegal remittances to North Korea. In Lee Jae-myung's trial for the same charges, the Suwon District Court, after his inauguration as president, unduly expanded the presidential immunity from prosecution and suspended the ongoing trial. However, Article 84 of the Constitution stipulates that the president is not subject to criminal prosecution during their term, with the exception of treason and foreign exchange crimes. 

The civic group "Seomin Minseang DaechukwI" (Seominwi) recently filed a complaint against Lee Jae-myung with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency for foreign exchange violations. Remittances to North Korea violate UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting direct economic support to North Korea, which is under UN sanctions for its nuclear weapons development. Saeumsa, Lee Hwa-young, and Lee Jae-myung are all subject to UN sanctions. 

According to a recently released YouTube video, in an interview with Professor Choi Bae-geun of Konkuk University on May 20, 2020, then Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung said, "We will do our utmost to send it. To cooperate with North Korea, we must give and take something." This moment reveals Lee Jae-myung's false claim that he was unaware of the remittances to North Korea by Saeumsa and Lee Hwa-young. 

Justice Minister Cho Sung-ho suspended Prosecutor Park Sang-yong's duties, citing his alleged use of salmon and alcohol parties to persuade suspects during the investigation, and continued propaganda by announcing a parliamentary investigation into falsified indictments. 

A citizen petition for the impeachment of Lee Jae-myung for foreign exchange crimes and the dissolution of the Democratic Party for complicity in foreign exchange crimes has been submitted to the National Assembly. However, neither the police investigation into Lee Jae-myung's foreign exchange crimes nor the parliamentary petition review are being conducted properly. This is in stark contrast to the competitive investigations by various investigative agencies against incumbent President Yoon Suk-yeol, which exceed the bounds of abuse of power and are unconstitutional. 

The special prosecutor for rebellion is even investigating Yoon Suk-yeol and related military personnel for foreign exchange crimes in an attempt to link President's lawful execution of duties, such as the deployment of drones into Pyongyang as the commander-in-chief, to foreign exchange crimes. Where does this disparity come from? It is created by the Democratic Party, which is adept at brainwashing the public through relentless propaganda and agitation, and the People Power Party, which is helpless and solely focused on defense against the Democratic Party's propaganda and agitation. 

Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, who undermined the border security of the South Korean military with Moon Jae-in's September 19th Military Agreement, the USB delivery at the summit with Kim Jong-un, and astronomical amounts of aid and illegal remittances that aided the North Korean communist regime's nuclear weapons development, are all subjects of foreign exchange crime investigations. 

The illegal remittance case of $8 million paid by Saeumsa to North Korea for Lee Jae-myung's visit is analogous to Kim Dae-jung's illegal remittance of $450 million to North Korea as bait for Hyundai Group's North Korea business rights to materialize the inter-Korean summit with Kim Jong-il for the Nobel Peace Prize, and both fall under foreign exchange crimes. 

Kim Young-sam: The Reason the People Power Party Became a Second String to the Democratic Party

As Prime Minister under the Park Geun-hye administration, Hwang Kyo-ahn served as acting president during the Park Geun-hye impeachment crisis. He then became the leader of the United Future Party, the predecessor to the People Power Party. Following the devastating defeat in the 2020 general election to the Democratic Party, which secured an overwhelming majority, he resigned as party leader. 

Hwang Kyo-ahn ran in Jongno, losing to Lee Nak-yeon of the Democratic Party, who secured 58.3% of the vote compared to Hwang Kyo-ahn's 39.9%. Up to this point, Hwang Kyo-ahn was no different from other incompetent and ineffective members of the People Power Party. 

However, after that, Hwang Kyo-ahn transformed into a fighter, armed with a conviction that the 2020 general election, including his Jongno constituency, was not merely suspected of being fraudulent but was indeed rigged. He organized the Anti-Election Fraud Corruption Task Force, took the lead in investigating allegations of election fraud, and founded the Freedom and Innovation Party. This is the difference between Kim Moon-soo, who immediately accepted his defeat after losing to Lee Jae-myung in the last presidential election, which was plagued by allegations of election fraud, and did not even file lawsuits regarding election fraud, and Hwang Kyo-ahn. 

The reason the US Republican Party invited Hwang Kyo-ahn and the Freedom and Innovation Party to CPAC instead of Chang Dong-hyuk and the People Power Party is that they do not recognize the People Power Party as a conservative party. The reason the People Power Party lost its identity as a right-wing party and became an "Enchu-pados" (a derogatory term for a subservient political party), a second string to the Democratic Party, is Kim Young-sam. Kim Young-sam, incompetent, ignorant, and corrupt, and a host for pro-North Korean leftists, took over South Korea's right-wing parties under the guise of a three-party merger, marking the beginning of the downfall of South Korean right-wing parties. 

The members of the People Power Party, still floundering in a historical narrative created by pro-North Korean leftists, do not understand how Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee established the Republic of Korea as a free democracy, achieved industrialization, and modernized the nation. They view Syngman Rhee, Park Chung-hee, and Chun Doo-hwan as dictators, the 1987 communist movement by North Korea and pro-North Korean leftist forces as a democratization movement, and the first Supreme Court decision that ruled the 1980 Gwangju Uprising a rebellion instigated by Kim Dae-jung was overturned by the Kim Young-sam administration's May 18 Special Act, transforming it into a democratization movement. 

Roh Tae-woo (left), the 13th President, and Chun Doo-hwan, the 11th and 12th President. [Photo=Yonhap News] 

After receiving a presidential pardon from Chun Doo-hwan following a death sentence for the May 18th rebellion, Kim Dae-jung was pardoned. After President Kim Young-sam took office, allegations of illegal political funds totaling hundreds of billions of won by Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung surfaced. To cover this up, Kim Young-sam and Kim Dae-jung enacted the May 18 Special Act, and Kim Young-sam ordered a reinvestigation into the December 12th incident, which had been concluded as a non-prosecution case by the prosecution after his inauguration. 

As a result, the December 12th incident, which was the legitimate execution of duties by the Martial Law Joint Investigation Headquarters to investigate Martial Law Commander Jeong Seung-hwa, who was arrested as a perpetrator at the scene of President Park Chung-hee's assassination, was reframed as a rebellion by Chun Doo-hwan and the new military. The May 18th incident was transformed from an armed rebellion led by Kim Dae-jung into a democratization movement. Subsequently, the investigation into Chun Doo-hwan and Roh Tae-woo's illegal political funds was resumed. 

If one does not learn from history, they will repeat past mistakes. With incompetent and ignorant individuals occupying seats in the National Assembly, the impeachment motion against Yoon Suk-yeol passes. The members of the People Power Party are helpless against the Democratic Party, which accuses the incumbent President Yoon Suk-yeol's declaration of emergency martial law of rebellion and labels the president as the ringleader of rebellion. Their ignorance leads to a lack of philosophy and conviction, making them opportunistic as they do not know what to do or how to do it. 

Since liberation in 1945, all large-scale demonstrations and riots in South Korea have been suspected of North Korean involvement. This is why all large-scale demonstrations are accompanied by force and violence. The justification is always democratization. The reason for using all illegal actions, violence, and force while shouting "democratization" is that the North Korean communist group and the pro-North Korean leftist forces, remnants of the Workers' Party of Korea, believe in totalitarian communism, not democracy. 

Yoon Suk-yeol's martial law is an attempt to expel pro-North Korean leftists and anti-state forces from South Korea and protect liberal democracy. It is intended to halt the process of communizing South Korea through the protracted struggle of pro-North Korean leftists under the guise of democratization since 1987. By concurring with the impeachment of Yoon Suk-yeol, following the impeachment of Park Geun-hye, the People Power Party has lost its reason for existence as a liberal right-wing party. 

It is now the turn of Hwang Kyo-ahn's Freedom and Innovation Party, which is fighting to reveal the allegations of election fraud that are the primary cause of Yoon Suk-yeol's martial law and to make the electoral system transparent, to unite the forces of the liberal right and re-establish South Korea, which has been communized under the 1987 system, as the prosperous and strong liberal democratic Republic of Korea of Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee. 

◆ Hwang Doo-hyong 

Former Washington Correspondent, Yonhap News Agency

Former Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Yonhap News Agency