Who Will Fill Han Dong-hoon's Vacancy... Possibility of 'Non-Yoon' Figures Like Na Kyung-won and Ahn Cheol-soo Emerging

Na Kyung-won and Ahn Cheol-soo Draw Attention as 'Capital Region' and 'Non-Establishment' Veterans
Kwon Seong-dong, Kim Tae-ho, Yoon Sang-hyun, Joo Ho-young Also Mentioned

Han Dong-hoon, the Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, announced his intention to resign, taking responsibility for the results of the 22nd general election, making changes in the power structure of the People Power Party inevitable.

As criticism arose that the ruling party failed to properly convey public sentiment to President Yoon Seok-yeol and instead appeared to be led by him, there is an expectation that a heavyweight figure with experience opposing the pro-Yoon faction will need to take the lead. In particular, attention is focused on the next party convention to elect the party leader, as figures who clashed with President Yoon and experienced political crises have entered the National Assembly. Within the party, there are voices suggesting that a 'non-Yoon' and 'metropolitan area' figure should lead the party.

Handonghun, the General Election Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is attending the inauguration ceremony of the 22nd National Assembly Election Central Election Committee and the candidate nomination meeting held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 19th. Photo by Kim Hyunmin kimhyun81@

First, Na Kyung-won, who won the Seoul Dongjak-eul election, is a representative figure. Na ran as a candidate for party leader in the People Power Party convention last March but withdrew her candidacy after a 'first-term members' petition' circulated. At that time, she faced intense scrutiny from the presidential office and the pro-Yoon faction. Given that she won despite Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, actively supporting the Democratic candidate Ryu Sam-young in that district during this election period, she is regarded as a suitable person to manage the party’s recovery from the defeat.

Ahn Cheol-soo, elected in Gyeonggi Seongnam Bundang-gap, is also highly likely to challenge for party leadership in the future. Ahn, who joined the party through the merger of the People Power Party and the People Party just before the presidential election, is a non-mainstream senior member within the party. Like Na, Ahn also ran in the previous party convention but ultimately lost.

Kwon Seong-dong, elected in Gangwon Gangneung and classified as 'pro-Yoon,' is also attracting attention. Although he declared he would not run in the last party convention, he expressed in a media interview during the election period that he wants to become party leader.

In addition, Yoon Sang-hyun, elected in Incheon Dongmichuhol, who emphasized the 'metropolitan area crisis theory' even before the general election and demanded improvement of the vertical party-government relationship, and Kim Tae-ho, elected in Gyeongnam Yangsan, who defeated Kim Du-kwan in the major battleground of the 'Nakdong River Belt,' also have potential to challenge for party leadership. Joo Ho-young, elected in Daegu Suseong-gap and now the longest-serving member with six terms, has also gained influence through this election and is expected to run in the next party convention.

Kim Ki-hyun, elected in Ulsan Nam-gu-eul and who was elected party leader in the last convention, may also challenge for party leadership again. Kim resigned from the party leader position leaving only a Facebook message due to pressure from the 'In Yohan Innovation Committee' leadership to step down. Han Dong-hoon, the Emergency Response Committee Chairman at that time, filled Kim’s vacancy.

On the same day, Kim posted on his social media, "I humbly bow my head before the harsh reprimand of public sentiment shown through this election and accept the people's criticism with a heavy sense of responsibility," adding, "As the immediate past party leader, I will not evade responsibility. I will calmly examine from the perspective of the sovereign people where and what went wrong in the government’s policy direction and party-government relations and will correct it without hesitation. I will start with a complete transformation of myself." This has led to speculation that he may challenge for party leadership.