DistantNews
Support us
🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

The People Power Party Climbs Back Up the ‘River of Impeachment’

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Opinion Named sources Context piece
  • Former President Park Geun-hye addressed People Power Party lawmakers at a retreat, urging unity and saying the party could regain public trust and return to power.
  • Park was expelled from the conservative party in 2017, after the Constitutional Court upheld her impeachment over abuses of presidential authority.
  • Critics say the party is retreating from its past reform promises, while some members have questioned the constitutional legitimacy of Park’s impeachment.

Former President Park Geun-hye, expelled by South Korea’s conservative party after her impeachment, stood before People Power Party lawmakers and urged them not to turn against one another. The lawmakers responded with a standing ovation.

Nothing is more frightening than internal division.

— Park Geun-hyeShe urged People Power Party lawmakers to overcome internal conflict at the party retreat.

Park spoke for nearly 20 minutes at the party’s lawmakers’ retreat on Aug. 27. She warned that “nothing is more frightening than internal division” and told members they should not hate or reject one another. Referring to the struggle by which a caterpillar becomes a butterfly, she said that facing reality and joining forces could help the party regain public trust, become the largest party and return to government.

Her appearance marked a sharp reversal from the conservative camp’s position after her removal from office. In November 2017, the then-Liberal Korea Party expelled Park, its first party member. Its leader, Hong Joon-pyo, promised to reflect on the incompetence and irresponsibility of her administration and build a clean, capable and accountable conservative party. The party had also abandoned the name Saenuri, closely associated with Park, before the Constitutional Court issued its impeachment ruling.

You must not hate or reject one another.

— Park Geun-hyeShe called for unity among lawmakers.

The successor People Power Party has increasingly brought Park back into public political life. In January, she returned to the National Assembly for the first time in nine years and helped end party leader Jang Dong-hyuk’s hunger strike over calls for special investigations. During the June 3 local elections, she campaigned in Daegu, North Gyeongsang, Busan, Ulsan, South Gyeongsang, Chungcheong and Gangwon. Critics viewed the campaign not only as support for party candidates but also as an effort to restore her political standing.

Envy means losing.

— Jung Jum-sikThe People Power Party floor leader responded to criticism of Park’s appearance.

Democratic Party spokesman Jeon Eun-su called the move “a retreat into the past.” People Power Party floor leader Jung Jum-sik replied, “Envy means losing,” while Supreme Council member Kim Min-soo said Park’s impeachment had been political and that restoring her honor remained necessary. Against that backdrop, the party’s claim that it will create a new conservative era faces an obvious question: whether it is crossing the river of impeachment, or climbing back up it.

That impeachment was political impeachment.

— Kim Min-sooThe People Power Party supreme council member questioned the legitimacy of Park’s removal from office.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

More Stories

From Our Blog