These days, complaints inside the People Power Party are mounting over Jang Dong-hyeok visiting the United States for eight nights and 10 days ahead of the local elections. Even Jang has not been able to clearly answer basic questions such as why he went to the U.S. and whom he met. Former lawmaker Kim Woong even said on YouTube on the 21st, "Why did the wolf who escaped from Daejeon run away? Along with that, (Jang's trip to the U.S.) has risen to the top two mysteries."
◇ Couldn't meet "Trump's spiritual mentor" and showed only the back of a "U.S. State Department Deputy Minister"
After returning home, Jang Dong-hyeok said at a news conference on the 20th that he "visited the U.S. for the local elections." He said, "The Lee Jae-myung administration continues to cause problems in diplomacy with the United States," adding, "In such cases, even the opposition party should step up and show efforts to resolve these issues and be judged by the public for that—that is part of the local elections." It sounded like he sought to build a hotline with the White House and the Republican Party to lay the groundwork for supporting the South Korea-U.S. alliance.
During his trip, Jang appears to have met two U.S. senators and six House members. According to the disclosed schedule, starting on the 13th with a meeting with Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, he met Rep. Joe Wilson, co-chair of the House Korea Caucus; Republican Rep. Tim Burchett; Rep. Young Kim, chair of the House Subcommittee on the Indo-Pacific; Rep. Ryan Zinke, Director General of the House Foreign Affairs Committee's task force on foreign military sales; Republican Rep. Adrian Smith; Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty; and Rep. Randy Fine. A foreign and security expert said, "Looking at whom Jang met in the U.S., it's questionable whether they fit the stated purpose of his visit."
Jang also met an unnamed official from the White House National Security Council (NSC) and said he met one U.S. State Department Deputy Minister. In particular, while he was going through procedures at the airport on the morning of the 17th to return home, he received a call from the State Department and delayed his flight. The person he ended up meeting was a Deputy Minister whose photo showed only the back of the head.
A former diplomat said, "It's hard to say he discussed core South Korea-U.S. diplomatic issues by meeting a U.S. State Department Deputy Minister." The State Department leadership comprises the Minister, two Vice Ministers, and six Vice Ministers. A Deputy Minister handles working-level affairs under each Vice Minister, roughly equivalent to a Director General at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Korea. The State Department has about 30 Deputy Ministers. The Deputy Minister overseeing East Asian and Pacific affairs is important, but it is unclear whether the Deputy Minister Jang met was that person.
Meanwhile, there is also talk that the person Jang sought to meet was Pastor Paula White, known as President Trump's spiritual mentor. Pastor Paula White is also known to have close ties with Han Hak-ja, the head of the Unification Church. Han is on trial over allegations of "collusion between religion and politics and state capture" involving the Yoon Suk-yeol administration and the Unification Church. She had been on trial in detention but was granted a suspension of detention late last month due to deteriorating health.
A People Power Party official said, "I think the purpose may have been to convey Han Hak-ja's difficulties to Pastor Paula White and thereby prompt President Trump to comment on the Lee Jae-myung administration's religious oppression," adding, "This is the only way I can understand the claim that he went to the U.S. for the local elections." But even that lost meaning as the meeting with Pastor Paula White itself fell through.
Another official said, "Jang initially planned a two-night, four-day schedule for the U.S. trip, then extended it to five nights and seven days, and eventually to eight nights and 10 days," adding, "Isn't it that, failing to meet anyone plausible, he extended his stay in the U.S. to meet at least someone?"
◇ Shaken leadership… "The party leader is a burden on local election candidates" "Resolve what you started"
Jang Dong-hyeok is seen as having even shakier leadership following the U.S. trip. On the 22nd, Gangwon Gov. Kim Jin-tae, sitting across from Jang, said, "You probably haven't even recovered from jet lag, but thank you for visiting Gangwon." The remark was seen as an indirect expression of dissatisfaction over Jang's eight nights and 10 days in the U.S. Kim added, "From what I've seen on the ground, many people say, 'I used to be with the red party, but this time, thinking of the central party makes my blood boil, so I won't vote,'" and "There are candidates who ask me to speak more bluntly when I meet you." He also said, "It's time to resolve what you started."
Earlier, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon said on a radio program on the 21st, "This is a time when candidates feel like their blood is drying up day by day, but there has been no explanation of whom (Jang met in the U.S.) and what was discussed that would help the local elections." He added, "(Jang) is becoming a burden on the candidates."
Not only pro-Han figures and younger reformists who had kept their distance from Jang from the start, but even the party's Supreme Council members and senior lawmakers are expressing doubts about this U.S. trip. A fourth-term lawmaker told ChosunBiz by phone, "I have concluded that it will be difficult under Jang's leadership," adding, "A transition to an emergency leadership committee after the local elections will likely be discussed in earnest."