People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok on the 17th entered the third day of a hunger strike demanding that the Democratic Party of Korea accept a pair of special counsels into the Unification Church and nomination bribery.
Jang stayed in the Rotunda Hall of the main National Assembly building, where he began his hunger protest on the 15th, and caught some sleep in a tent again the previous night. Other than slowly sipping water poured from a 500 mL bottle into a clear cup, he reportedly did not put any food in his mouth.
Lawmakers of the People Power Party and local party chapter chiefs outside the Assembly continued to visit the protest site that day. Secretary-General Chung Hee-yong, chief spokesperson Park Sung-hoon, chief of staff Park Jun-tae, chief of political affairs to the party leader Kim Jang-kyom, and Supreme Council member Kim Min-su, among other leaders, stayed by his side, and senior lawmakers including five-term Na Kyung-won and three-term Lim Lee-ja also came to the site.
Meanwhile, the pro-Han faction (pro–Han Dong-hoon) continues to protest the party ethics committee's decision to expel former leader Han Dong-hoon, citing the so-called party members' bulletin board incident. Former Supreme Council member Kim Jong-hyuk plans to hold a rally at 2 p.m. in front of the National Assembly with supporters of the former leader to urge the withdrawal of his expulsion.
Within the party, some are saying Jang began the hunger strike amid the controversy over Han's expulsion as a way to shift the narrative. A Jang aide said, "Jang signaled 'extraordinary measures' to press for a special counsel on the Unification Church as early as the 24-hour filibuster a month ago," adding, "The timing happened to coincide with the expulsion vote, which is unfortunate because there are distorted views."