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1h ago

PPP Ethics Panel Votes to Expel Ex-Leader Han Dong-hoon

The sanction awaits Supreme Council approval after a late-night vote that deepened factional rifts.

Han Dong-hoon, former leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly on Dec. 3, 2025, to mark the first anniversary of former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law bid. (Yonhap)
Lawmakers discuss a bill calling for a second round of comprehensive special counsel probe into former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law and corruption allegations and other things during a plenary session at the National Assembly in Seoul on Jan. 15, 2026. (Yonhap)
Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the main opposition People Power Party, and party lawmakers stage a rally to protest the ruling Democratic Party's push to pass a special counsel probe bill to investigate former President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law, corruption allegations surrounding his wife and the death of a Marine, at the National Assembly on Jan. 15, 2026. (Yonhap)
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Overview

  • Party investigators said five accounts linked to Han’s family posted about 1,428 defamatory messages on the PPP’s members-only forum targeting Yoon Suk Yeol, Kim Keon Hee, and other figures.
  • The ethics body cited severe damage to the party and alleged evidence deletion and interference with an earlier audit under Han’s leadership.
  • Final expulsion requires ratification by the Supreme Council, and party chief Jang Dong-hyeok said no action will be taken until the appeals period ends.
  • Han rejected the ruling, likened it to “another martial law,” and his lawyer signaled a court challenge rather than seeking an internal rehearing.
  • PPP lawmakers are split over the move, and critics, including a senior Democratic Party figure, condemned the after‑1 a.m. vote as a tactic to limit backlash ahead of June 3 local elections.