South Korea’s opposition conservative party on Tuesday elected Jang Dong-hyeok, a lawmaker known for openly backing former President Yoon Suk Yeol, even after his removal over a failed attempt to impose martial law.
The People’s Power Party (PPP) picked Jang, a two-time lawmaker who joined right-wing rallies organised by Christian churches and spoke out in defence of Yoon this year, even after calls for PPP to distance itself from the impeached Yoon who is on trial for alleged insurrection.
In June, the party suffered a big defeat in a snap presidential election that left it with little power to challenge new centre-left President Lee Jae Myung and his Democratic Party.
Far-Right Allegations
“Together with right-wing citizens, I will sacrifice my everything to take down the Lee Jae Myung regime,” Jang said after his election as party leader.
Critics have labelled Jang as “far-right” due to his association with staunch Yoon supporters, including some who have made unsubstantiated claims about the conservatives being victims of election fraud.
Jang rejected such labels and called for the party to unite in order to take on the Lee administration.
International Angle
During a meeting with South Korea’s president on Monday, US President Donald Trump raised questions about investigations by authorities in Seoul that he said targeted churches and a military base used by US forces.
“Police probably shouldn’t have done that, but I heard bad things. I don’t know if it’s true or not,” Trump told reporters just before he was due to meet South Korean President Lee Jae Myung at the White House. “I’ll be finding out.”
Trump said he had heard “there were raids on churches over the last few days. Very vicious raids on churches by the new government in South Korea,” and added that “they even went into our military base and got information.”
Trump was apparently referring to ongoing wide-ranging investigations by South Korean authorities into then-President Yoon’s martial law declaration and its fallout.
A section of South Korea’s far-right movement, which includes evangelical Christians and Yoon supporters, view the ousted president as being a victim of communist persecution.
(With Inputs from Reuters)
