Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon praised Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was recently acquitted on appeal, as "someone we must join forces and move forward with for the victory of the conservative camp."
Han made the remarks on the 25th during an appearance on KBS's "Sunday Diagnosis," when asked to assess Oh as a politician, describing him as "a highly reasonable person." Asked about calls for the two to join hands to broaden the conservative base, Han said, "We have never let go of each other's hands."
On Oh's acquittal on appeal over alleged violations of the political funds law, Han said he found it "quite fortunate." He added, "From the first trial, I said there were problems with that ruling and that it had to be corrected on appeal, and it was corrected along the lines of the logic I laid out."
Political circles are watching whether the two can seek to expand the conservative camp toward a moderate, pragmatic position distinct from the hard-line conservative course taken by People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk. Oh, speaking to reporters on the 24th after attending the 2026 Press Photographers' Family Sports Day held at the National Assembly sports field, stressed, "I will do my utmost to bring together the hearts of those whose views and philosophies differ somewhat."
Han pushed back firmly against the "traitor" framing directed at him by some conservatives. "I have never betrayed the people, and isn't that charge mainly about my blocking the martial law declaration?" he said. "Martial law had to be stopped, and I believe I did what I had to do." He added, "I will give a full explanation even to those who hold such sentiments."
Responding to criticism that he has not shed his prosecutorial image, Han countered, "A leader fights at the point where the people believe a fight is needed," adding, "When it comes to people who commit crimes while in politics, I will act like a prosecutor."
Han characterized as political retaliation the Democratic Party of Korea's recent revival of allegations that his daughter padded her academic credentials, along with its calls for an investigation. "The essence of this is political retaliation and rehashing the same thing over and over," Han said. "Because I pointed out painful problems for the Democratic Party — a corruption-related lobbying scandal involving the brother of justice minister nominee Kim Seung-won, the delayed investigation into North Korea's landmine attack in the Demilitarized Zone, and the discord in the South Korea-U.S. alliance — they began making false attacks on my child, cowardly, while I was abroad for the parliamentary audit, as part of an effort to attack me as the messenger."
Han expressed concern about the government's foreign and security policy. Having returned from a parliamentary audit of South Korean diplomatic missions in the United States, he said, "A senior U.S. official insisted on meeting me, came to my hotel and we talked at length. He was deeply worried, asking whether the Lee Jae-myung administration might unilaterally declare the transfer of wartime operational control while ignoring the U.S. position."
On recent remarks about wartime operational control by Gen. Xavier Brunson, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, Han said they were "statements made after coordination with Washington." He added, "Brunson's remarks should be seen as close to the basic U.S. position. Dismissing or attacking them as Brunson's personal view is a failure to face reality."