Is the Appointment of Ahn Cheol-soo's Recommended Jeong Jeom-sik and Kim Yoon as People Power Party Supreme Council Members Imminent?

Number of Supreme Council Members Appointed by Party Leader Increased from 1 to 3
Supreme Council Total Also Expanded to 11 Members

Kwon Seong-dong, Acting Leader of the People Power Party, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 25th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] The leadership of the People Power Party has decided to proceed with the appointment process for key party positions, including the two Supreme Council member seats allocated to the People’s Party following the recent presidential election merger.

The People Power Party plans to bring the agenda of holding a National Committee meeting to the Supreme Council as soon as possible, and subsequently hold the Standing National Committee and the National Committee meetings in succession to initiate amendments to the party constitution. To add the two Supreme Council members allocated to the People’s Party, the party constitution must be amended to increase the current Supreme Council membership from 9 to 11, and the number of appointed Supreme Council members that the party leader can designate must be increased from 1 to 3.

It is reported that on the morning of the 25th, after the Supreme Council meeting, the leadership held a closed-door discussion on this matter, chaired by Kwon Seong-dong, acting party leader and floor leader, with the Supreme Council members in attendance.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Previously, Ahn Cheol-soo, former leader of the People’s Party, recommended Jeong Jeom-sik, a People Power Party lawmaker classified as pro-Yoon (pro-Yoon Seok-yeol faction), and Kim Yoon, former head of the People’s Party Seoul City Committee, for the two Supreme Council seats allocated to the People’s Party. However, the appointments were delayed as party leader Lee Jun-seok publicly requested reconsideration and maintained opposition. According to the merger agreement between the People Power Party and the People’s Party, the promised party positions for the People’s Party include 2 Supreme Council members, 1 deputy general manager-level head of the Public Relations Headquarters, 1 party spokesperson, 3 deputy spokespersons, 2 deputy directors of the Yeouido Research Institute (the party think tank), and 1 standing advisor, totaling 13 positions.

After the party constitution amendment procedure is completed at the National Committee meeting, Acting Leader Kwon plans to appoint the two Supreme Council members recommended by the People’s Party as ‘appointed Supreme Council members’ at the Supreme Council meeting.

Meanwhile, the party leadership has also decided to proceed with a party-wide recruitment process to select a successor for the vacant Supreme Council seat left by former member Kim Jae-won, who voluntarily resigned to run in the June 1st parliamentary by-election, in accordance with party rules and regulations.