Who Is Kim Gi-hyeon's Top Two Partner? Behind-the-Scenes Competition for Ruling Party Floor Leader

Attention on Whether Pro-Chin Yoon Faction's Strength Will Extend to Party Leadership
Interest Also on Regions of Origin Such as Capital Area, TK, and PK

The People Power Party, having completed the leadership formation through the party convention, will hold the floor leader election next month. Despite Kim Ki-hyun's 'Yeonpotang (Alliance, Inclusion, Balance)' initiative, the leadership and key party positions have been filled entirely by pro-Yoon members, drawing attention to whether the party's top two leaders, including the floor leader, will also be elected as 'Pro-Yoon (친윤)'.

Voices are growing for electing a floor leader from the Seoul metropolitan area to ensure regional balance. The candidacy of Minister of Unification Kwon Young-se, who is rumored to be drafted, is also a point of interest.

Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, is giving an opening speech at the members' meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 16th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Floor Leader Also Pro-Yoon? ... Gathering Momentum for 국민공감

The pro-Yoon faction's group, 국민공감 (Gukmin Gonggam), held its first meeting under the new leadership on the 15th, inviting Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Lee Ju-ho to give a lecture on education reform. The meeting was attended by 43 lawmakers, including pro-Yoon members holding key party positions in the new leadership.

Gukmin Gonggam, led by lawmaker Jang Je-won, a core pro-Yoon figure, is considered the largest factional group within the party, with 75 out of 115 lawmakers participating. Although officially maintaining the stance that it is a purely study group unrelated to factional politics, some interpret their meetings as a 'pro-Yoon power consolidation.' Since members of Gukmin Gonggam could concentrate their votes on a specific candidate, potentially influencing the floor leader election, their presence is expected to grow ahead of the election. Floor leader candidates Kim Hak-yong (4-term), Park Dae-chul, and Yoon Jae-ok (3-term) also attended the event.

However, if the floor leader is also elected from the pro-Yoon faction while the party leader and leadership are composed of pro-Yoon members, it will be difficult to avoid criticism of being 'entirely pro-Yoon.' If both 'top two' positions are filled by pro-Yoon figures, questions about political expansion may arise. Attention will also focus on the extent of 'check votes' from the non-Yoon faction confirmed in this party convention. In last year's floor leader election, amid a movement to endorse the longest-serving lawmaker Joo Ho-young, who was the floor leader, newcomer lawmaker Lee Yong-ho, who had been in the party for only nine months, caused a stir by securing 40% of the votes.

More a Battle Between Seoul Metropolitan Area and TK·PK than Pro-Yoon?

The 'Seoul Metropolitan Area Party Leader Theory,' which was raised during the last party convention, may also become a major topic in the floor leader election.

Yoon Sang-hyun (4-term), a People Power Party lawmaker who is among the floor leader candidates, said on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' on the 16th, "Looking at the Democratic Party leadership, Representative Lee Jae-myung and all the supreme council members are from the Seoul metropolitan area, and the floor leadership is entirely composed of Seoul metropolitan area lawmakers. Therefore, the Seoul metropolitan area needs to make progress in the general election, but there are almost no members in this (People Power Party) leadership who understand the Seoul metropolitan sentiment."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Yoon is a lawmaker from the Seoul metropolitan area with a relatively short tenure in the party, representing Incheon Dong-gu and Michuhol-gu. Among the current floor leader candidates, only Kim Hak-yong (Anseong, Gyeonggi) and Yoon Sang-hyun are from the Seoul metropolitan area. Since Kim Ki-hyun is from Busan and Gyeongnam (PK), the argument that the floor leader should not come from the same region is gaining traction. Among the floor leader candidates, those from PK, Daegu, and Gyeongbuk (TK) are Kim Tae-ho (Sancheong, Gyeongnam), Park Dae-chul (Jinju), Yoon Jae-ok (Daegu), and Cho Hae-jin (Miryang). Broadly, it is a contest between the Seoul metropolitan area and the conservative strongholds of PK and TK.

However, there are also opinions that the floor leader criteria cannot be defined by a single factor. On BBS's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal,' People Power Party lawmaker Cho Hae-jin said, "Among the criteria for deciding the floor leader are leadership to guide the party, political and administrative capabilities to support government success, communication and negotiation skills to resolve relations between ruling and opposition parties, and public trust. Regional balance is indeed one of the factors our fellow lawmakers consider, but it is not an absolute criterion."

Minister of Unification Kwon Young-se, who was rumored to be drafted as a party leader candidate during the party convention, is also rumored to be a candidate in this floor leader election. He represents Yongsan, Seoul, fitting the 'Seoul metropolitan area floor leader theory.' However, his candidacy is difficult as a cabinet reshuffle must first take place.