"Nominations to the People": Independent Han Dong-hoon Raises 'Bottom-Up Nomination' Targeting Rival Parties

▲ Independent Lawmaker Han Dong-hoon

Attention is focusing on the background as independent Lawmaker Han Dong-hoon recently raised "bottom-up nominations" as a political agenda, stating that "nomination power must belong to the people, not the party leader."

Political circles interpret this as an effort by Lawmaker Han to preempt the "political reform" agenda ahead of the general elections in April 2028, which are about 1 year and 8 months away, while also keeping in mind his return to his "former home," the People Power Party.

Following his initial remarks during a recent breakfast forum lecture hosted by a media outlet, Lawmaker Han posted consecutive messages on Facebook, presenting "bottom-up nominations" as a core keyword for "conservative reconstruction" and "Yeouido political reform."

In a Facebook post on July 31, he wrote, "Only when nomination power is returned from the party leader to the people can we change 'Yeouido politics, where politicians chase party leadership by any means necessary and drift away from public sentiment' as we see today," adding, "If we change this, (conservatives) will win."

The following day on August 1, right after the ruling party forcefully processed the bill to abolish supplementary investigation powers, he pointed out, "Once someone seizes party leadership, they can exercise 'arbitrary nominations' to arbitrarily purge even politicians supported by public sentiment, and out of fear, even decent politicians surrender to forces making extreme and irrational claims, creating a 'zombie politics' that is destroying both major parties."

He went on to cite, "The abolition of supplementary investigation powers, which 161 people committed like zombies while their heads opposed it, is a prime example," and stated, "Returning nomination power to the people is political reform that will solve current problems."

Lawmaker Han's remarks appear to simultaneously target the Democratic Party of Korea, which is engaged in a fierce battle at its national convention to secure party leadership tied to nomination power for the 2028 general elections, and the People Power Party under leader Jang Dong-hyeok, which has similarly attempted to retake party leadership by promoting a "party member-centric party theory."

First, targeting the Democratic Party, he directly criticized them for passing the "bill to abolish supplementary investigation powers" out of a competition for distinctiveness mindful of hardline party members. Observers forecast that if conflict flares up between pro-Lee Jae-myung and pro-Chung Chung-rae factions following the election of the ruling party's new leadership next month, he will sharply target the issue of "forcing alignment through nominations" and escalate his offensive against the ruling bloc.

In addition, regarding the People Power Party, interpretations suggest that while he shares the view that Party Leader Jang Dong-hyeok needs to step down, he may be sending a message to veteran lawmakers from the Gyeongsang region—who remain negative about his return to the party due to fears of disadvantages in nominations—telling them not to feel "groundless fear."

At the same time, Party Leader Jang recently launched an internal task force (TF) to establish criteria for evaluating incumbent lawmakers as part of preparations for the 2028 general elections, moving to strengthen his party leadership by stating, "We will make party member evaluations reflect more on nominations" and "We will nominate those who fight well."

Regarding the issue of "nomination power" during a recent breakfast forum lecture, Lawmaker Han pointed out, "Regardless of who takes the party leadership, we must create a structure where that person cannot arbitrarily control nominations according to their whim. Currently, the People Power Party has no choice but to engage in hedging politics, keeping options open on both sides due to uncertainty over who will hold the nomination power."

He continued, "In this crucial golden time for conservatives, 90% of the talk is about who should not enter and who must leave. This must not happen," emphasizing, "Returning nomination power to the people is the path to overcoming 'fear of nomination power,' 'fear of being excluded by extreme forces,' and 'fear of defeat,' which are obstacles to conservative reconstruction at the present time."

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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