Supreme Council Member Kim Min-su: "As Long as I'm Here, Han Dong-hoon Cannot Return to the Party"
Kim Min-su, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, publicly declared on the 5th that independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon cannot return to the party, saying, "As long as I, Kim Min-su, am here, he cannot come back." Kim, widely regarded as a close ally of People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk, made the remarks at a rally against the 'vote-counting station blockade' held in front of the Olympic Park handball stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul. "I think I've said it about 100 times on the YouTube channel Lee Young-poong TV," Kim said. At the rally, the crowd chanted slogans including "No to Han Dong-hoon" and "Han Dong-hoon out."
The issue of Han's return to the party had resurfaced earlier that day when four-term People Power Party lawmaker Kim Tae-ho wrote on Facebook that "Han Dong-hoon's sudden return to the party must be pursued magnanimously."
Party leader Jang, who spoke after Kim at the rally, did not mention Han. Claiming that "Lee Jae-myung is destroying South Korea," he called for the "resumption of the trial" and urged supporters to attend the 'National Rally to Denounce the Forced Passage of the Law Canceling Lee Jae-myung's Trial' to be held at the National Assembly on the 6th.
On the 1st, Jang said on MBN's 'Jung Woon-gap's In-Depth Analysis' that "raising the issue of (Han's) return to the party at this point is itself inappropriate." Appearing on the YouTube channel New Daily TV on September 25, he similarly said, "Until the party membership board issue is resolved, it is not appropriate to even mention (Han's) return to the party."
As for the 'vote-counting station blockade rally,' which reignited the debate over Han's return, the ballots for the June 3 local elections in Songpa-gu, Seoul, which had been sealed inside the handball stadium, were removed on October 29 after public verification by the special investigation team of Election Commission official Lee Tae-han. Observers say the rally, which began on June 5, has effectively entered its final stage.
