There’s an old saying in North Korean politicians: rightists fall from fraud, while leftists collapse from section. Recently, however, these jobs appear to possess reversed.
Lee Jae-myung, the spokesman for the left-wing Democratic Party, is the subject of five individual trials involving allegations of corruption and believe breaches. He was found guilty of breaking election laws in November, which had, if upheld, prevent him from running for president in the upcoming vote. Cho Kuk, another important leftist politician, just lost his parliamentary seats after the world’s top prosecutor upheld his two-year jail sentence for bribery. Lee’s and Cho’s ladies have been convicted, both of misusing a business credit cards and scientific fraud.
Contrastingly, the impeachment of President Yoon Sok Yeol’s story highlights how determined conservatives are to protect their leader, even at the expense of significant division within the more conventional wing.
Numerous rumors have been circulating that 12 People Power Party ( PPP ) lawmakers gathered to support the motion following the anonymous vote on December 14 to remove Yoon. Three people abstained, and eight votes were invalidated. Assuming all criticism people endorsed the prosecution, 23 ruling party politicians diverged from their group’s official position of non-impeachment.
PPP Chairman Han Dong-hoon, who reversed his first position to recommend for Yoon’s prosecution, has since resigned amid the fallout from the latest issue – or, more accurately, Han was deposed by older members of his celebration.
As if this conflict weren’t enough, the ruling party is now using such terms as” rebels” to strike the few who defied group guidelines.
Pro-Yoon liberals ‘ antipathy to Han has strong roots. The now-resigned group president, once Yoon’s closest friend, generally adopted a vital attitude toward the government’s growing list of scandals, urging the chief executive to place his house in order. This rankled Yoon’s staunchest centurions.
The ruling group’s creation launched an offensive in July when Han took over as leader with unwavering support after serving for several decades as interim leader. The group’s “aristocratic clique”, as one journalist described the party, refused to let an observer like Han direct without resistance. Forging a coherent coalition was almost impossible for the beginner party chair due to persistent uncooperativeness and inner tensions.
However, outside the political arena, pro-Yoon Influencers and supporters unleashed a barrage of unsubstantiated and malignant rumors to destroy Han’s position. Frustrated by the continuous smear campaign, Han, at one place, consulted the president about disparaging strikes against him– to no avail.
Of course, Han is partly to blame for his regular flip-flopping posts, including his management of the latest tumult. But, no matter what Han did, the pro-Yoon party was determined to oppose him. The group’s top parliamentarians quickly moved to remove their main after Yoon’s impeachment motion was passed last week, as if waiting for the right moment.
Efforts to take and pity those who voted for Yoon’s prosecution are even intensifying. One PPP senator went so far as to call them “weasels who stabbed]the leader ] in the back”. Hong Jun-pyo, Mayor of Daegu and a dominant PPP part, has boldly demanded their ejection from the group.
There hasn’t been much reflection or important work to connect the ruling party in the awake of Yoon’s frequently criticized martial law gambit. Amid the ongoing infighting, the party’s approval ratings have plunged to 25.7 %, a record low since Yoon assumed office in May 2022. Almost 8, 000 people withdrew their PPP members between December 4 and December 15, according to the paper Kyunghyang.
The Pro-Yoon party is still operating as usual despite the waning people assistance and the looming uncertainty over Yoon’s life. The ruling group’s formation looks relieved to have suddenly toppled Han, replacing him with a familiar face, Kweon Seong-dong. The party’s another crusaders appear extremely pleased, shifting their focus to removing the disloyal members.
For political purges mirror the situations during former traditional President Park Geun-hye’s prosecution, as though they’d been lifted from the same rulebook.
A swath of lawmakers from the ruling Saenuri Party ( predecessor to PPP ) supported Park’s impeachership by parliament in December 2016. What ensued was a bitter clash between pro-Park and anti-Park factions, ultimately leading to numerous party defections.
The Constitutional Court officially removed Park from office in March. In May, a crucial election for president was held, allowing Moon Jae-in to retake the presidency. Those who were” selectively” labeled anti-Park were ruthlessly attacked and marginalized from mainstream politics.
The ruling PPP is expected to elect a new interim leader and move into emergency committee mode after weeks of unrest and self-inflicted wounds. Most likely, someone from the establishment or a person who is easily controlled by it will be chosen. The party may attempt to eject the 12 or 23 “betrayers” in an effort to consolidate control behind Yoon as he prepares for a constitutional court ruling, with some senior members reportedly maneuvering in the background.
A deeper analysis of the party’s faltering state and a commitment to bridging its internal divides are glaringly absent from the mainstream right-wing discourse. It appears that conservatives in South Korea have learned little from the most recent impeachment scandal, which almost destroyed their political existence.
Unabhängig of who may succeed him, the next president will resurrect a divided country. The cycle of blame and short-term turf war will persist. But for the pro-Yoon conservatives, without meaningful introspection and readiness to prioritize unity over factionalism, the same destructive patterns will continue to shape their future.