[Breaking] Han Dong-hoon steps down as ruling party leader
By Jung Min-kyungPublished : Dec. 16, 2024 - 11:03
People Power Party Chair Han Dong-hoon on Monday announced his resignation from his post as chief of the ruling party, saying that he does not regret calling for PPP lawmakers to vote in favor of Yoon's impeachment.
"I will step down from my position as the chief of the ruling party," Han said in a press briefing held at the National Assembly.
"The collapse of the party's Supreme Council has made it impossible to carry out my duties. President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment was painful, but I do not regret my decision," he added.
The announcement comes nearly five months after he was elected to lead the People Power Party at its national convention held July 23.
Han had previously said he plans to continue his duties despite calls for his resignation from the mostly pro-Yoon faction within his party. Several ruling party lawmakers claimed that Han should take responsibility for the passage of Yoon's impeachment motion in the Assembly on Saturday.
However, since all five elected members of the ruling party's Supreme Council expressed their intent to resign in recent days, Han has faced mounting pressure to step down.
The prosecutor-turned-political novice had pushed for Yoon's "orderly resignation" and later for ruling party lawmakers to vote in favor of the president's impeachment in the days leading up to the president's impeachment by the Assembly. The opposition coalition introduced an impeachment motion against Yoon over his botched martial law decree on Dec. 3.