On the 21st, 'six-term' lawmaker Jo Kyung-tae of the People Power Party declared his candidacy for party leader, stating, "I will not hesitate to eradicate the forces that have driven our party into a perilous situation." He identified those advocating for allegations of election fraud within the party, pro-Yoon forces, and those presumed to support Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon as 'targets for disconnection.' He officially proposed to Ahn Cheol-soo, also of the People Power Party, who emphasized a massive personnel overhaul within the party, saying, "Let's unify through a 100% national primary."
Lawmaker Jo held a press conference at the National Assembly's communication room that morning, stating, "Our party is currently facing a serious crisis. The party is on the brink of dissolution," while emphasizing, "I will take the lead in rebuilding the values of traditional conservatism."
Jo remarked, "I must frankly confess. Our party has betrayed the spirit and values of conservatism," adding, "The People Power Party, as a public party of Korea, has an obligation to uphold liberal democracy, constitutional values, and the rule of law. However, we have betrayed those values ourselves and are under judgment by the people."
He continued, "This convention is the last opportunity given by the people to reflect on the past and engage in introspection," emphasizing that he would complete the reforms with strong momentum.
Lawmaker Jo specifically stated, "I will save our party through a complete disconnection from the misguided past," noting, "I will completely break away from the far-right and extremist forces trapped in outdated ideologies."
In this context, he presented key pledges, including ▲ establishing principles for party members to make final approvals on nominations, policies, and promises ▲ strengthening the policy committee and building a data-driven innovative party ▲ establishing a 'People's Voice Headquarters (tentative name)' to respond to community-related complaints.
Lawmaker Jo proposed to those among the candidates for the party leadership who advocate 'party reform' to unify through a '100% national primary.'
After the press conference, he met with reporters and stated, "We must accept the proposal for a 100% national primary from our innovation committee chair Yoon Hee-sook," suggesting to lawmaker Ahn, who has announced his candidacy for party leader, "I formally propose unification through a 100% national primary."
Regarding the far-right forces that need to be severed, he said, "We must disconnect and expel the forces advocating for election fraud and calling to bring back the president who was impeached under illegal martial law. The followers of Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon are also far-right factions that our party must cut off, representing three major groups that must be severed," adding, "If any candidate matches even one of those criteria, they are not qualified to be a candidate for the People Power Party." He then mentioned Kim Moon-soo, the former Minister of Employment and Labor, who declared his candidacy for party leader the previous day.