A week has passed since the June 3 local elections ended, but the post-election fallout is showing little sign of easing. The Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party are both claiming this was an election they "lost," an unusual spectacle.
Lim Mi-ae, a lawmaker who heads the Democratic Party's North Gyeongsang chapter, said in a Facebook post on the 9th, "The Democratic Party lost. We put forward the best candidate we could prepare, but we lost." Lim is a key Democratic figure in the TK region who persuaded former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum to run for Daegu mayor and supported the campaign during the election.
Lim said, "People in Daegu and North Gyeongsang could not relate at all to the Democratic Party's slogan 'Ending rebellion and normalizing the state,'" adding, "From the Daegu–North Gyeongsang perspective, it was a strategic failure." She went on, "During the campaign, the special counsel bill on fabricated indictments and the Starbucks incident fueled suspicions that 'the Democratic Party is trying to abuse power,'" and "So despite the high job approval rating, voters used their 'votes' to 'check' the Democratic Party."
Lee Un-ju, the Democratic Party's senior supreme council member, announced the previous day that she would step down, saying, "Facing the results of the June 3 local elections, I feel a heavy sense of responsibility as a Democratic Party supreme council member." It is the first case of a party leader acknowledging the election defeat and resigning.
The People Power Party is also hearing loud voices about the election defeat. The reform-minded freshman and sophomore lawmakers' group "Alternative and Future" held a forum at the National Assembly that day to explore the direction the People Power Party should take after the local elections.
Lee Sung-kwon, a lawmaker who serves as secretary of Alternative and Future, said in opening remarks, "Our People Power Party was defeated," adding, "We must never engage in mental victories or self-serving interpretations based on how many metropolitan mayors and governors, by-elections, or winners we have."
Park Sung-min, head of the political consulting firm Min and the lead presenter at the forum, criticized People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok, saying, "Jang's leadership cannot be sustained not because this election undermined his standing, but because he lacks the ability to craft a strategic vision for Korea, to unite conservatives, or to win."
Park also said, "If you say you won when you lost by a little, how can you win?" adding, "The People Power Party has lost the ability to win."
People Power Party lawmakers who took the floor at the forum struck the same tone. Kim Jae-seop, a lawmaker representing Dobong-gap in Seoul, said, "In the 2022 local elections, the People Power Party held 17 of Seoul's basic districts and the Democratic Party held 8, but this time it is exactly the reverse, with the People Power Party holding 8 and the Democratic Party 17," adding, "This is commonly called a crushing defeat."
There were also sharp words for Jang Dong-hyeok's leadership. Kim said, "Throughout the campaign, the initial strategy was to keep two-shots of Mayor Oh Se-hoon and leader Jang Dong-hyeok out of sight," adding, "The outcome in Seoul this time starkly showed the public mandate to break with the 'Yoon-again' faction and, further, to rebuild a centrist-leaning conservatism."
Woo Jae-joon, a lawmaker for Daegu Buk-gu-gap, also weighed in on the Daegu mayoral race, saying, "Candidate Choo Kyung-ho won by 8 percentage points, but considering Daegu's characteristics, there needs to be extensive diagnosis on the premise that this was a defeat."
Both parties acknowledging the election defeat with one voice is tied to the coming battle for party leadership. With the Democratic Party's national convention in August ahead, there is a strong chance that leader Jung Chung-rae, lawmaker Song Young-gil, and Prime Minister Kim Min-seok will vie for the top post. Depending on where they place the assessment of these local elections and the causes of the outcome, party members' votes are likely to shift.
A Democratic Party official analyzed, "Depending on whether the blame is placed on leader Jung Chung-rae's overreaching nominations and an election strategy centered on eradicating rebellion, or on the excessive push to drop the president's prosecution, different lines of accountability could surface."
Within the People Power Party as well, questions over leader Jang Dong-hyeok's future and leadership accountability are pervasive. Although Jang dismissed calls to resign, depending on the outcome of the next floor leader election, the voices calling for independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon's return to the party and for the resignation of the leadership centered on Jang could grow louder.
A People Power Party official said, "In the floor leader election scheduled for the 10th, the party's course will be decided depending on whether the pro-leadership candidate Jeong Jeom-sig wins or the candidate backed by junior lawmakers, Kim Do-eup, wins."