Rep. Han Ji-ah of the People Power Party (PPP), who is supporting candidate Han Dong-hoon in the Busan Buk-gu A by-election, said she will "travel down to Busan ten or a hundred times if it helps rebuild conservatism," defying warnings from the party leadership that has signaled disciplinary action.
Han held a press conference at the National Assembly on Wednesday, signaling an all-out confrontation with the party leadership.
Responding to the leadership's disciplinary warning, Han said, "They are only raising their voices about internal power struggles," adding, "I hope they stop the internal attacks and develop a strategy." She also said, "When the presidential candidate was being selected, there were lawmakers who actually supported Han Duck-soo, who ended up running as an independent candidate," adding, "I will willingly accept discipline on the same standards as those lawmakers."
Han went further to reveal her preference for unifying the candidacy behind Han Dong-hoon rather than Park Min-sik, who was selected earlier that day as the PPP candidate for Busan Buk-gu A. "I think it is important to choose a more competitive candidate, one who has walked the right path, and one who was not linked to and did not defend the emergency martial law," she said. "I believe forces that defend the martial law still exist, and our citizens will choose someone who can carefully check the Democratic Party while also passing judgment on such forces."
Lawmakers aligned with Han Dong-hoon also raised their voices, calling the disciplinary measures against Han Ji-ah unjust. Rep. Koh Dong-jin said, "Former party leader Han Dong-hoon is an important asset of the conservative movement who has entered the by-election under the banner of rebuilding conservatism." He added, "Is it really normal to bring up disciplinary action simply because someone cheered him on?"
