Han Dong-hoon

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Han Dong-hoon, born on April 9, 1973 in Seoul, is a South Korean politician and former prosecutor. He served as the 69th Minister of Justice from May 2022 to December 2023 under President Yoon Suk Yeol. He led the People Power Party (PPP) from July to December 2024, after serving as the party’s interim leader from December 2023 to April 2024. He is married to Jin Eun-jeong and they have two children.

Education and early career
He studied law at Seoul National University, passed the bar in 1995, and trained at the Judicial Research and Training Institute. He did mandatory military service as a prosecutor in the Republic of Korea Air Force, reaching the rank of captain. He earned an LLM from Columbia Law School in 2005. He began his public career as a prosecutor in 2001 in Seoul, later working in the Central Investigation Department of the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. He worked on high-profile anti-corruption cases with Yoon Suk Yeol, including prosecutions involving Park Geun-hye, Lee Myung-bak, Samsung’s Lee Jae-yong, and the family of Justice Minister Cho Kuk.

As a prosecutor, Han helped lead major investigations, including those into corporate and political corruption. In 2020 he faced demotion amid a scandal, but he returned to public service and was appointed Minister of Justice in May 2022.

Minister of Justice and political leadership
As justice minister, he aimed to revive a securities crime division and led efforts against corruption. He stepped down in December 2023 to become interim leader of the PPP, and later became the party’s permanent leader in July 2024. His tenure came during a very turbulent political period, with tense relations between the government and the ruling party. He resigned as PPP leader on December 16, 2024, after a major impeachment development involving President Yoon.

Later career
In 2025 he published a memoir, The People Come First, and announced his bid for the 2025 presidential election, but he lost in the PPP primary to Kim Moon-soo.