Difficulties in Selecting Emergency Committee Chair... Is Floor Leader Lee Cheol-gyu Solidifying His Position?

First Test to Show Possibility of Party Reform
Senior Members Decline... Yoon Jae-ok's Deepening Dilemma
Discussed Emergency Committee Chair Appointment with Lee Cheol-gyu the Day Before

The appointment of the next Emergency Response Committee Chairperson for the People Power Party is expected to be the first test showing the possibility of party reform following the crushing defeat in the general election. Depending on how the Emergency Response Committee Chairperson manages the aftermath of the election defeat, the People Power Party could either regain public support or lose even more of it. As the appointment process fails to gain momentum, Floor Leader Yoon Jae-ok is also facing increasing concerns.

The People Power Party is expected to reach a consensus and endorse the Emergency Response Committee Chairperson at the upcoming elected members' meeting scheduled for the 29th. The authority to appoint the Chairperson lies with Floor Leader Yoon, who is currently acting as the party leader. Previously, Floor Leader Yoon also stated that the Emergency Response Committee Chairperson would be elected before the new floor leader election scheduled for the 3rd of next month.

Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the discussion forum titled "Tasks Left by the 22nd General Election," hosted by the Yeouido Research Institute at the central party office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 25th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

However, the reactions from senior lawmakers who were rumored to be candidates have not been very positive. Perhaps because the direction has been set for a 'caretaker-type Emergency Response Committee' that only leads until the party convention, senior lawmakers are generally reluctant to accept the recommendation for the Chairperson position. After the floor strategy meeting that day, Floor Leader Yoon told reporters, "The senior members are declining."

The next Emergency Response Committee Chairperson, who will serve for a short period of about two months, also bears the heavy responsibility of improving the party convention rules. In 2022, the 'Jung Jin-seok Emergency Response Committee' revised the party constitution to elect the party leader through 100% party member voting. Previously, the election of the party leader and supreme council members was 70% party member voting and 30% public opinion polls, but the rules were changed to elect a 'pro-Yoon' candidate. After the general election, there have been calls inside and outside the party to increase the public opinion poll reflection ratio to 50% in the party convention rules. Kim Jae-seop, the elected member for Dobong-gu Gap, Seoul, recently wrote on his Facebook, "It is not appropriate to call it a party member-only feast; the People Power Party is not a political club," and added, "To become a responsible party to the public, the 100% party member structure should be changed." It is also known that out-of-office committee heads have conveyed similar intentions.

Lee Cheol-gyu, a member of the People Power Party's Nomination Management Committee, is speaking at the first Nomination Management Committee meeting held on the 16th at the central party office in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Among senior lawmakers, only Cho Kyung-tae, the member for Saha-gu Eul, Busan, has expressed willingness to take on the Emergency Response Committee Chairperson role if requested. In a phone interview that day, Cho said, "If the party asks for my intention, I have told Floor Leader Yoon that I am willing to accept." However, Floor Leader Yoon firmly stated, "There has been no prior exchange of opinions." At this meeting, Cho also suggested to Floor Leader Yoon that he should take on the Chairperson role, but Yoon reportedly declined.

Meanwhile, it is known that Lee Cheol-gyu, who was once considered a core member of the pro-Yoon faction, and Floor Leader Yoon met the day before to discuss the appointment of the Emergency Response Committee Chairperson. Lee is a strong candidate for the next floor leader election. Regarding the meeting with Lee, Floor Leader Yoon said, "We are gathering diverse opinions from party lawmakers regarding the appointment of the Emergency Response Committee Chairperson," adding, "(Lee) is one of the lawmakers I met." When asked if they discussed Lee's candidacy for floor leader, Yoon drew a line, saying, "We did not discuss that." He added, "Senior lawmakers are declining the Chairperson role, so I asked if there are any suitable candidates among those who had not been considered."