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Han Dong-hoon leaves a press conference commenting on the People Power Party’s decision to expel him from the party on Jan. 29, 2026. (pool photo)

Han Dong-hoon was officially expelled from Korea’s conservative People Power Party on Thursday, more than two years after he first joined the party as its interim leader with the backing of Yoon Suk-yeol, who was president at the time. 

Many figures belonging to the pro-Han wing of the party, including Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, opposed the move to expel the former party chief and demanded the immediate resignation of the party’s current leader, Jang Dong-hyuk. 

The PPP convened a meeting of its Supreme Council on Thursday, where it voted to remove Han from the party register. The meeting was presided over by Jang, who’d just returned to work the day before after a week-long hiatus due to his hospitalization following a hunger strike and sit-in at the entrance to the National Assembly. 

Among the nine members of the council, seven voted in favor of expelling Han from the party: Jang, PPP floor leader Song Eon-seog, policy committee chair Jeong Jeom-sig, Shin Dong-uk, Kim Min-soo, Kim Jae-won, and Cho Kwang-han. Woo Jae-jun, the chair of the party’s youth committee, opposed Han’s removal. Yang Hyang-ja said that she had abstained from the vote. 

Once a member is formally expelled from the party, he or she is forbidden from rejoining the party for five years. The Supreme Council must grant approval for any expelled member to rejoin the party down the line. 

Han found himself in the spotlight after allegations emerged that he and his family had posted comments criticizing Yoon and his wife, Kim Keon-hee, on the PPP’s internal bulletin board in 2024. 

At the end of last year, the party’s internal audit committee submitted the results of its investigation, and the party’s central ethics committee voted in favor of expelling Han.  

Han immediately slammed the move.

“They can expel me from the party, but they cannot break my passion for good politics that serves the people of Korea,” he said during a press conference at the National Assembly on Thursday. 

“To my fellow party members and to the people, this party and the conservatives belong to us. Please do not give up. Wait for me. I will be back,” he said. 

Han has claimed that the results of the party’s audit of him were trumped-up and is considering legal measures, such as filing for an injunction. 

Han’s expulsion has taken infighting within the PPP to new levels. 

“This [the removal from the party register] counts as a serious act,” 16 legislators aligned with Han said in a statement. “Party leadership, with Jang Dong-hyuk at its head, should take accountability for this incident and immediately resign.” 

Oh Se-hoon, the mayor of Seoul, has said that Jang is “driving the party down the path of self-destruction.” 

“Amid a crisis that puts us on the brink, [Jang] does not deserve to be the leader of the opposition party,” Oh said. 

Jang, for his part, has issued no statement on the matter. He is expected to transition into election prep mode ahead of June’s local elections in the weeks to come, such as by announcing his pick to lead the party’s committee for recruiting new talent.

By Jeon Gwang-joon, staff reporter

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]