The new party leader of the People Power Party, the first opposition party, will be decided by a run-off vote. Both candidates, Kim Moon-soo and Jang Dong-hyuk, who made it to the runoff are from the 'anti-impeachment' faction opposing the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, making extreme opposition with the government and ruling party inevitable regardless of who becomes the leader.
The People Power Party held a national convention on the afternoon of the 22nd at Osco in Cheongju to elect new leadership. It was an event to select one party leader, four supreme committee members, and one youth supreme committee member. The biggest interest was who would become the new leader of the People Power Party.
The party leader candidates were divided between those supporting the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol and those opposing it. The so-called 'pro-impeachment faction' included Ahn Cheol-soo and Jang Dong-hyuk, while the anti-impeachment faction consisted of Kim Moon-soo and Jang Dong-hyuk. The pro-impeachment faction claimed 'innovation,' while the anti-impeachment faction emphasized 'struggle' and displayed completely different agendas.
On that day at the national convention, with anti-impeachment candidates Kim Moon-soo and Jang Dong-hyuk advancing to the runoff, the new party leader of the People Power Party will ensure that the anti-impeachment faction claiming 'struggle' takes the lead.
Candidates Kim Moon-soo and Jang Dong-hyuk emphasized strong resistance against the government and ruling party. Featuring the catchphrase 'We will fight strongly and clearly,' Kim proposed focusing efforts on 'preventing the oppression of a dictatorial regime' as the first pledge. Kim emphasized, 'I will fulfill my responsibility by fighting against the tyranny of President Lee Jae-myung,' stating, 'We will be reborn and unite to fight strongly and fiercely.'
Candidate Jang also stressed, 'I will stand at the forefront and fight against the Lee Jae-myung regime.' He stated in media interviews, 'Sticking together and battling the Democratic Party of Korea is the true severance from the past,' while asserting that 'struggle is innovation.'
Previously, Democratic Party of Korea leader Jeong Cheong-rae remarked that if the anti-impeachment faction is elected as the People Power Party leader, there would be no room for dialogue. During the memorial service for former President Kim Dae-jung on the 18th, held at the National Cemetery in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, he said, 'If it were you today, you would have assuredly said that true forgiveness is akin to completely eradicating insurrectionist forces.' This reiterated his position that he does not consider the People Power Party, which sympathized with the insurrection, as a dialogue partner.
The National Assembly schedule also casts a grim outlook on cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties. The Democratic Party has set a goal to complete three major reforms, including prosecutorial reform, by the Chuseok holiday after passing the Yellow Envelope Act and amending stronger commercial law in the August extraordinary National Assembly. It is expected to pursue an extension of the investigation period for the 'three special prosecutors' that is scheduled to conclude in October and November.
On that morning at a supreme committee meeting, Representative Jeong Cheong-rae said, 'The grounds for the dissolution of the Unified Progressive Party were conspiracy to commit insurrection or incitement of insurrection, but the People Power Party is a party directly involved in insurrection, thus in comparison to the Unified Progressive Party, it is more than ten or a hundred times worthy of dissolution.' He also mentioned, 'I have already proposed an amendment to the Constitutional Court Act to allow the National Assembly to deliberate on the dissolution of a party in the Cabinet meeting.'
As the ruling party's offensive intensifies, the opposition leader has also become part of the anti-impeachment faction emphasizing 'struggle,' indicating that extreme confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties is likely to continue for the time being.