Ruling party falls short of self-reform after election defeat
Despite widespread calls for reform following the ruling People Power Party’s (PPP) devastating defeat in the April 10 general elections, key figures aligned with President Yoon Suk Yeol are apparently aiming to gain control of the party’s leadership again.
As the conservative party prepares to select a new floor leader in a general meeting of lawmakers-elect on May 3, Rep. Lee Chul-gyu, a Yoon loyalist, is apparently vying for the position.
Lee secured his third term for the upcoming 22nd National Assembly by winning in the Donghae-Taebaek-Samcheok constituency of Gangwon Province.
Since the elections, Lee has been actively meeting various party members, according to local media reports, including both newly elected and seasoned members, in what appears to be a campaign for the floor leader position.
Lee, who previously served as the PPP’s secretary-general, stepped down after the party’s crushing defeat in a by-election last October. But he swiftly returned to the party fold as a key member of its candidate nomination committee during the general election campaign. Lee reportedly recruited around 40 new members to the party, with 10 successfully securing seats in the upcoming Assembly.
Aside from Lee, Rep. Park Daechul, also categorized as part of the pro-Yoon faction, is being mentioned as a possible candidate. Park secured his fourth term in the elections by winning in the Jinju-A constituency of South Gyeongsang Province.
The new floor leader is expected to play a crucial role in forming an emergency committee following the recent dissolution of the previous committee led by the party’s former interim leader Han Dong-hoon, who stepped down after the election defeat.
The floor leader is also tasked with leading negotiations with opposition parties, which are threatening to introduce bills targeting the presidential office as soon as the new Assembly is launched.
In that sense, it was widely expected that the PPP would need to pick a moderate figure who does not closely align with Yoon, for the floor leader position. Also, given that the party’s leadership has been dominated by figures from the Gyeongsang provinces — a traditionally conservative stronghold — there have been calls within the party that the new floor leader should be someone from Seoul or the surrounding regions to present a fresh image.
Lee Jae-young, a PPP member who lost in the recent elections, expressed concerns that if Lee secures the floor leader position, the party would revert to being a “pro-Yoon faction,” once more.
“There are concerns that since Rep. Lee is a symbolic figure of the Yoon loyalists, the party would go back to being pro-Yoon again, along the same old path,” he said during an interview with local broadcaster SBS, Wednesday.
The PPP suffered a crushing defeat in the April 10 elections, where it secured 108 out of 300 seats, losing to its main rival the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) which clinched victory with 175 seats.
Critics have pointed to the party leadership’s overly close relationship with the presidential office, which failed to offer candid advice and critiques on Yoon’s perceived policy missteps, as a factor contributing to the electoral loss.