People Power Party Elected Members' General Assembly... Focus on 'Senior and Capital Region' Leadership

The People Power Party held a meeting of elected members following senior lawmakers to discuss measures for party recovery. Attention is focused on who will lead the emergency response committee, the stage before holding the party convention.

Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the 22nd National Assembly People Power Party and People’s Future elected members' general meeting held at the National Assembly on the 16th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the morning of the 16th, the People Power Party held a general meeting of the 22nd general election elected members at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. The elected members, centered around Floor Leader Yoon Jae-ok, discussed measures to address the defeat in the general election. Floor Leader Yoon said, "(The elected members) must have deeply pondered not the joy of winning but how to lead the livelihood of the people as the ruling party lawmakers going forward," adding, "I ask for your joint efforts to find the best solutions for crisis management, from urgently resolving current issues to the party’s long-term policies and operational directions."

The day before, the People Power Party held a meeting of senior lawmakers with four or more terms, centered around Floor Leader Yoon. The senior lawmakers tentatively agreed to hold a party convention after going through the emergency response committee. Floor Leader Yoon said, "To hold a party convention, the party’s constitution and regulations require going through the emergency response committee," adding, "If the Supreme Council is in place, there is no need for the emergency response committee, but since the Supreme Council is absent, the emergency response committee is necessary to carry out the practical procedures for the party convention."

The People Power Party is expected to decide on the future leadership system through the general meeting of elected members and others. The emergency response committee is usually operated as a 'one-top' system by bringing in external figures. However, since the party’s situation must be addressed immediately and the pool of personnel has narrowed after the general election defeat, there is also an opinion that senior party members should be utilized. There is also a proposal for Floor Leader Yoon, who is concurrently acting as the party representative, to directly take on the role of emergency response committee chairperson.

The question of whether senior lawmakers from the metropolitan area will seize party leadership is also noteworthy. Among the 90 district-elected members of the People Power Party in this general election, 59 are from the Yeongnam region, so to shed the image of a 'Yeongnam region United Liberal Democrats,' it is pointed out that metropolitan area elected members should be presented as the face of the party. Elected member Kim Jae-seop said on CBS Radio the day before, "Currently, the party convention is structured with 100% party members, so the power of Yeongnam inevitably plays a very large role," adding, "To become a metropolitan area party again, the party convention rules need to be revised to some extent."

However, Yeongnam region elected members hold the view that party leadership should not be organized considering only the metropolitan area. Elected member Cho Kyung-tae said on MBC Radio the day before, "In the case of Busan, although it is part of Yeongnam, it was a very difficult election," adding, "The leadership should be formed beyond prejudices about specific regions to help innovate and reorganize the party more effectively."