Yeo Party Leadership Election, Escalating Conflict Over 'True Pro-Yoon' Faction... Calls for 'Reform' Emerge

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The upcoming People Power Party leadership election scheduled for March is being diagnosed as turning into a 'pro-Yoon (친윤)' appeal war among party leadership candidates. Representative Kim Ki-hyun and former Representative Na Kyung-won, grouped as the 'Kim-Jang Alliance (Kim Ki-hyun-Jang Je-won),' are fighting each other by claiming to be the true pro-Yoon, and Ahn Cheol-soo, a candidate from the 'pro-pro-Yoon faction,' is also claiming to be pro-Yoon. There are also calls to reform this leadership election structure and abolish the party leader's nomination rights.

Kim Jae-seop, head of the Dobong-gap district committee of the People Power Party, appeared on CBS's 'Park Jae-hong's One-on-One' on the 16th and said, "Former Representative Na will go beyond the pressure of pro-Yoon and advocate for a 'new pro-Yoon,'" adding, "I think he will devise an election strategy by proclaiming 'I am the real pro-Yoon. I am the true Jin-Yoon (진윤).'"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Former Representative Na is under crossfire, being criticized as the 'leader of anti-Yoon' by Representative Jang Je-won, a key figure in Yoon Seok-yeol's inner circle (Yoonhaekgwan), but he has repeatedly claimed to be pro-Yoon through social media (SNS). On SNS the day before, he expressed his excitement about President Yoon Seok-yeol's successful attraction of investments worth 40 trillion won during his visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), saying, "My heart is overflowing with emotion."

He emphasizes that he is the 'real pro-Yoon' against the pro-Yoon faction. Through SNS, he revealed that he visited the graves of former Presidents Syngman Rhee, Park Chung-hee, and Kim Young-sam in succession, asserting, "I am an orthodox conservative and the origin of conservatism who has never left the party." This can also be interpreted as a remark targeting Representative Jang, who left the Saenuri Party to join the Bareun Party and then returned to the party.

It is highly likely that former Representative Na will continue to claim to be 'pro-Yoon.' Kim Haeng, a member of the People Power Party's emergency committee, said on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' on the 17th, "If former Representative Na runs, he will inevitably continue to express his affection for President Yoon," adding, "Without that, he cannot receive the choice of party members."

There are also criticisms that the Yoonhaekgwan and pro-Yoon factions pushing former Representative Na as 'anti-Yoon' actually enhance his presence. Former Environment Minister Yoon Yeo-jun, known as the 'conservative strategist,' pointed out on KBS Radio's 'Joo Jin-woo Live' that "It ultimately has the effect of nurturing former Representative Na," and criticized Representative Jang's calling former Representative Na the 'leader of anti-Yoon,' saying, "The fact that an anti-Yoon faction has already formed within the party indicates a problem with the president's leadership." Despite the pressure from the pro-Yoon faction, former Representative Na seems determined to run.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, there are voices expressing fatigue over the leadership election, which highlights only 'pro-Yoon appeals' rather than presenting a vision for the party's future. Former People Power Party Representative Yoon Hee-sook said, "The essence of the leadership election is 'what I will do as the ruling party's leader,' and with the country so divided now, how to build bridges across generations, genders, and classes, and how to support and complement the structural reforms currently being promoted by the government and ruling party," adding, "So it's not the time to talk about who you are close to, who you know well, or who you are not far from; you need to talk about your ideas, but that mechanism is completely absent."

There are also calls to reform the structure where the party leader holds the nomination rights tightly. Representative Cho Kyung-tae, who declared his candidacy for party leader the day before, said, "The biggest cause of all conflicts is the nomination system," adding, "No matter who becomes party leader, nomination reform must be done." He also hinted at pursuing measures to weaken the party leader's nomination rights if elected, saying, "Foreign party leaders do not exercise such overwhelming nomination rights as in our country."