PPP leader ends weeklong hunger strike after ex-President Park Geun-hye's visit
By Lee Da-huiPosted : January 22, 2026, 14:29Updated : January 22, 2026, 14:30
Jang Dong-hyeok, the leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), is being taken to a hospital in Seoul on Jan. 22, 2026. Yonhap
SEOUL, January 22 (AJP) - Jang Dong-hyeok, the leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), ended his weeklong hunger strike on Thursday as his health condition worsened.
Jang, who began the strike last Thursday, calling for independent investigations into allegations involving the Unification Church and other bribery cases, was taken to the hospital at around noon.
Jang said, "I'm ending mu hunger strike for a longer and bigger fight," adding that public anger over what he called the "tyranny of the corrupt Lee Jae Myung administration" and the ruling Democratic Party (DP) would "blaze like wildfire."
Former President Park Geun-hye (left) meets with Jang Dong-hyeok, the leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) at the National Assembly in Seoul on Jan. 22, 2026. Yonhap
He decided to end the strike shortly after former President Park Geun-hye visited him at the National Assembly and urged him to stop, saying the public would recognize his sincerity.
Park said, "While people may differ in their views, the public will recognize the sincerity of his fight as a politician for what he believes is right."
Adding that they could meet again, she asked him to regain his health soon, saying "more difficulties could lie ahead."
Several lawmakers including his fellow party members along with Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the minor centrist Reform Party, earlier visited him, urging him to end his fasting.
