I have zero issues for people who dislike Dowun - you're free to like and dislike whomever you want. It's fiction lol. No one needs to justify liking or hating a character. Let your heart do what needs must.
But I just want to make it clear what he actually IS so that at the very least we're on the same page regarding what his character is meant to represent. Baek Han is easy to pinpoint (well, for now, unless the author throws us some reveals) but Dowun is not. His type of cold unemotional political manipulator is an archetype that's VERY hard to do well if one wants to make him worthy of redemption. So I want to see how that plays out, given how much thought and effort Bionhu put into portraying Dowun.
Also, there's like... Asian literary tropes at play. Looking through a modern lens is great, but it's good to also take traditional ideas into account when going through the story.
Dowun's control extends only to the political domain. And even then he's being limited by HongLyon. This is SUPER NORMAL EA palace politics in lit. He hasn't actually gaslighted, overly controlled or even attempted to change HongLyon to fit a mould of his own making - like, seriously, she comes to that decision herself because he behaves like an emotionally constipated dick and she realises she needs to harden her heart to Play The Game. As empress, Dowun only comes to her to ask for a decision, to impart advice, or to teach something. There are no emotional appeals at play. He doesn't hold anything for ransom (physically or emotionally). When he does try something sneaky or underhanded, it's in an attempt to remove external obstacles (i.e. emperor, Baek Han, etc. and those things she has no serious connection to at that point - and every time he's made a decision, it has always been the RIGHT decision on his part - BaekHan living has seriously put a damper on Dowun's influence).Dowun lies quite a bit, but most seem to be white lies intended to cover someone's ass (i.e. his dad) which make him look bad. He's a very nuanced and complex character. And he's WAY too mysterious right now. Will he be taken down or will he redeem himself????? That's what I want to KNOW