Former People Power Party leader Han Dong Hoon revealed that on the night of the December 3 martial law crisis, a prominent ruling party figure warned him about an imminent arrest attempt against him. Han expressed shock at the idea that the president sought to eliminate the ruling party leader but found the declaration of martial law in 2024 less surprising.
Han disclosed this information in his newly released book, The People Come First: Han Dong Hoon’s Choices.
Shortly after publicly opposing martial law, he received a phone call from a well-respected ruling party figure he knew. The insider advised, “Han must not be arrested at any cost. If he’s taken into custody, his life could be in real danger. Don’t go to the National Assembly; find a safe house immediately. Turn off your phone to avoid being tracked, and make sure your family goes into hiding, too. This is credible information, so please take it seriously and follow these instructions.”
Han believed the urgency of the warning indicated a real threat. He reflected, “If they wanted to harm me, why go to the extreme of declaring martial law? They could have hired someone to do it.”
“While the notion of the president wanting to eliminate the ruling party leader seemed absurd, I wondered if declaring martial law in 2024 was that far-fetched,” he added. Han mentioned that YouTuber Kim Eojun claimed to have received information about a plan to assassinate him during the martial law period, which reminded him of the warning he received on December 3.
Han also described his disagreement with former floor leader Choo Kyung Ho, who had ordered party members to gather on the day of the martial law declaration.
He stated, “Floor Leader Choo and I had differing views. He wanted to hear opinions from senior lawmakers coming to the party headquarters. I repeatedly asked him to follow my decision as party leader to oppose martial law.”
Han claimed that the day after martial law was declared, during his meeting with President Yoon Suk Yeol, the president first discussed dissolving the National Assembly. He noted, “In retrospect, one peculiar point in the president’s remarks was his statement that he could have dissolved the National Assembly but chose not to.”
He continued, “None of the attendees had mentioned dissolving the National Assembly first. However, since the 1987 constitutional amendment, the president no longer has the authority to dissolve the National Assembly. I couldn’t grasp the meaning behind his words, but I didn’t press the issue further.”
During the meeting, Han emphasized that Yoon did most of the talking. The president argued that the overall situation, including the Democratic Party’s excessive use of impeachment threats, constituted a crisis equivalent to war or national emergency, justifying the declaration of martial law. Notably, Han pointed out that during their meeting, Yoon did not mention the alleged election fraud, which he had previously cited as a significant reason for declaring martial law.