Signs of Power Shift in Ruling Party Amid Presidential Office Personnel Reshuffle
Lee Jun-seok: "A Disguised Castration Show, Just for Appearances"
People Power Party Floor Leader Kwon Seong-dong (right) and Representative Jang Je-won are leaving after a lunch meeting at a restaurant in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 15th of last month. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Joo-hee] The leadership within the ruling party is reshaping into a new power structure. Jang Je-won, a key figure of the Yoon core group (close associates of President Yoon Seok-yeol) and a member of the People Power Party, declared a "white-clad army" stance, and Kwon Seong-dong, the floor leader, announced that he would express his position after the launch of the party's new emergency committee, signaling a visible "step back to the second line." The recent large-scale personnel reshuffle in the presidential office aligns with this trend. However, some opinions suggest it is too early to judge the resignation of the Yoon core group, as they are expected to continue exerting influence behind the scenes even if they step back publicly.
The theory of the Yoon core group's retreat to the second line was signaled by Jang's official declaration of "white-clad army" on the 31st of last month. Through Facebook, Jang stated that he would no longer participate in meetings or activities that could be perceived as factional and that he would not hold any public office in the Yoon administration. He expressed "infinite responsibility" for the recent party turmoil and said he would focus solely on his duties as a constituency lawmaker and committee activities. This appears to be a response to public demands within the party for the Yoon core group's resignation.
The recent personnel reshuffle in the presidential office is also analyzed as a background for this decision. Among those who were recommended to resign during the reshuffle, many are reportedly part of the so-called "Yoon core group line." Since personnel issues are cited as a cause of the decline in President Yoon's approval ratings, it is interpreted that Jang took responsibility and stepped down.
Floor leader Kwon also stated that he would announce his position once the People Power Party's new emergency committee is formed before the Chuseok holiday. Inside the party, there are mounting calls for Kwon to resign due to his responsibility for internal chaos caused by leaked "internal criticism" text messages, leading to widespread speculation that he will soon step down.
However, some voices doubt the sincerity of the Yoon core group's retreat. Both Jang and Kwon have previously stepped down from their positions only to reestablish themselves as influential figures. During the last presidential election, Jang, who served as the general manager of the comprehensive situation room for Yoon's campaign, stepped down after his son's drunk driving and assault on a police officer incidents surfaced. At that time, Jang also stated on Facebook that he would serve as a "white-clad army" for Yoon's victory. However, it was later revealed that Jang played a key role in the unification negotiations between President Yoon and then People's Party presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, reaffirming his influence. After Yoon's election, Jang was appointed as the secretary-general of the transition committee.
Similarly, Kwon stepped down from his roles as party secretary-general and head of the comprehensive support headquarters of the election campaign committee in January amid internal conflicts over the party's campaign committee reorganization and a decline in President Yoon's approval ratings. However, in April, backed by Yoon's support, he was overwhelmingly elected as floor leader.
Regarding the theory of the Yoon core group's step back to the second line, former party leader Lee Jun-seok described it as a "fake castration show." In a Facebook post, he pointed out, "Since many polls show that the public dislikes the Yoon core group, they are technically pretending to distance themselves from them," and added, "Didn't they also say they would step back to the second line during the presidential election, only to resurface like ghosts once the transition committee was formed?"
In political circles, the general assessment is that the recent personnel reshuffle in the presidential office has made the distancing between President Yoon and the Yoon core group more visible. It is expected that the Yoon core group's influence will diminish, and the power balance will shift toward the presidential office's prosecution line, which is close to President Yoon. Former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won diagnosed in a CBS radio interview on the 1st that "the regime's power is shifting from the Yoon core group era to the prosecution core group (key associates from the prosecution) era."
However, he added, "Even if the prosecution core group takes over the presidential office, they cannot control the National Assembly in Yeouido. No matter how much of a president he is, he cannot appoint lawmakers as prosecutors," and predicted, "Since the Yoon core group members, who were elected through elections, still hold a majority, conflicts will continue to arise in the future."
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