Jang Dong-hyeok of the People Power Party said on the 9th that he believes in the strength of 1 million dues-paying responsible party members after the number surpassed 1 million, noting, "The fate of the party and the nation is at stake in the upcoming local elections, and many say it will be difficult, but I believe in the power of 1 million responsible party members."
In his opening remarks at the "Choice of 1 Million, A New Start" event held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, that morning, Jang said, "The more party members we have, the larger and deeper our party's vessel to contain the people's voices will become, and the power of party members will be the force that opens the future of the Republic of Korea," and stated accordingly.
According to the People Power Party, after the responsible party member system was first introduced in November 2005 during the Hannara Party era, the number of responsible party members surpassed 300,000 in February 2016, 500,000 in November 2021, and 800,000 in March 2023.
Jang said, "No matter what anyone says, the owners of the party are you, the party members. The ones who set the direction for the People Power Party are also the party members," adding, "The Republic of Korea is now in a life-or-death crisis, and our party has been given the duty to stop it and save the nation and the people from crisis."
He continued, "If we all unite tightly and run with the spirit of one standing against a hundred, we can surely write a drama of a great comeback," and emphasized, "Let's trust ourselves, trust our comrades who run together, and charge forward on the road to victory."
Three party members who became the 1 millionth responsible party members and attended the event asked Jang, "Please rescue a nation in a truly difficult situation," and "Please carry out responsible politics."
Chung Hee-yong, the secretary-general, said, "After going through the process of martial law and impeachment, the number decreased somewhat, and under the leadership of Jang Dong-hyeok, we started with about 720,000 responsible party members," adding, "However, following the expansion of party member sovereignty under Jang's leadership, the number of responsible party members surged this year, and in March we finally opened the era of 1 million. This is an increase of more than 40% compared with before Jang took office."