SEOUL, December 10 (AJP) - Ihn Yo-han, a lawmaker from the main opposition People Power Party, announced his resignation at a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday, urging "national unity."
His abrupt resignation comes amid the struggling party's internal division and conflicts in the wake of disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched Dec. 3 martial law debacle last year.
The great-grandson of American missionary Eugene Bell, who was born in the liberal stronghold of South Jeolla Province, is a naturalized South Korean citizen and former professor at Yonsei University's Severance Hospital in Seoul. He began his political career with tasks related to the conservative party's urgent reforms in 2023.
Expressing his desire to leave politics, he said, "I want to end my brief political career and return to my former profession."
He criticized, "Party-driven binary politics exhausts citizens and is detrimental to national progress," calling for unity beyond the current political divide."
Pointing to the difficulty of overcoming the disastrous debacle, he said he decided to give up all his privileges, adding "Change requires sacrifice."
He entered politics to spearhead the PPP's reforms in October 2023, but stepped down after about a month. He then secured a seat in the National Assembly the following year.
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