In the ruling People's Power Party (PPP) leader election, the battle between candidate Won Hee-ryong, who is backed by the pro-Yoon Suk-yeol faction, and candidate Han Dong-hoon, who has formed the mainstream opinion, is intensifying. On June 30, Won accused Han of being a traitor and an inexperienced novice who broke trust with President Yoon. "The traitor theory is a politics of intimidation against party members and the people," Han responded.

Won met with reporters at the National Assembly on the same day and said, "Han does not have three things: communication (with the president), trust relationship, and experience.” Referring to the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye in 2017, Won said, "The conflict between the party and the government led us to codestruction by pushing the president into a corner. We must not repeat it.” He also pointed out Han’s lack of experience, saying, "He is naive because he hasn't experienced it in 2017," referring to Han who said he would propose the PPP’s plan for a special probe bill to investigate the death of Marine Corporal Chae Su-geun.

This is an attempt to frame Han as a traitor after he distanced himself from Yoon after announcing his candidacy on June 23, saying he would propose the special investigation bill. Through this, Won is trying to block Han's first majority and turn the tables in the final round by naming himself a stable second-place candidate.

"No matter how much you suffer from ‘Han Dong-hoon phobia,’ you cannot play the politics of intimidation and division," said Jeong Kwang-jae, a spokesperson for Han's camp, in a commentary on the day, adding, "The malicious betrayal frame will face the judgment of party members and the people."

Jang Dong-hyuk, Han's running mate, fired back, saying, "(Won) was the one who insisted on impeaching Park Geun-hye and ran for the head of a metropolitan government after leaving the party." Won worked to impeach Park, defected from the party in 2017 and was elected governor of Jeju Island in 2018 as an independent.

Han posted a photo of himself campaigning for Won, Na Kyung-won, and Yoon Sang-hyun during the last general election on social media, writing, "I ran for the three of them with all my heart." It was interpreted as an attempt to frame the other candidates as traitors.

Early public opinion is leaning toward Han. According to a poll conducted by Korea Gallup from June 25 to 27 among 308 PPP supporters (with a margin of sampling error of ±5.6 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level), 55 percent said they would support Han, 19 percent said Won, 14 percent said Na, and 3 percent said Yoon.

The party is watching closely to see if Won and the pro-Yoon faction’s "anti-Han Dong-hoon" offensive will work by July 23. Some say that party members in Yeongnam, a key region of the party, are shaken by the fact that candidate Han has not been able to field a candidate for the supreme council in Yeongnam region and has not met with Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo and also Lee Chul-woo, the governor of North Gyeongsang Province.

On the other hand, many members of the pro-Yoon faction are supporting Han, and some argue that the renegade frame will not work at a time when Yoon's approval rating remains in the 20 percent range.

Candidate Na met the people and supporters while traveling to Gwangjang Market in Seoul and Namyangju, Pocheon, and Yeoju in Gyeonggi Province. “It is not about the special investigation bill and betrayal, but the party and people's livelihood are more important."

Candidate Yoon wrote on social media, "No matter who wins the election, Han or Won, the aftereffects will be huge. If they become a party leader as a presidential candidate, the party will be divided due to the unfairness of the presidential election. Those who lost to Lee Jae-myung should not serve as a party leader."