Will It End in the First Round or Go to a Runoff?… Voting Begins for the Ruling Party Leadership Election

Handonghun Aims for Majority in First Round Vote
Nakyungwon, Won Heeryong, Yoonsanghyun's Runoff Vote Reversal Strategy
Whether Prosecution Cancellation Disclosure Will Influence Voter Sentiment Is Key

The People Power Party will conduct a party member vote for the election of the next leadership over four days starting from the 19th. Han Dong-hoon, considered the frontrunner, aims to secure a majority in the first round of voting, while candidates Na Kyung-won, Won Hee-ryong, and Yoon Sang-hyun plan to block Han’s majority to push the election into a runoff and claim victory.

The People Power Party will carry out voting by the party member electorate and a national opinion poll from the 19th to the 22nd, and plans to announce the results at the 4th Party Convention held on the 23rd. Specifically, mobile voting by the electorate will take place until the 20th, followed by ARS voting and the national opinion poll on the 21st and 22nd. If no candidate obtains a majority, a runoff vote will be held on the 28th. This convention reflects an 80% weighting for party member votes and 20% for the national opinion poll. The total number of party member electors is 843,292.

Candidate Han Dong-hoon intends to decide the outcome by surpassing the majority in the first round. Jeong Gwang-jae, spokesperson for Han’s campaign, recently stated, “The goal is to achieve over 65% of the vote in the first round,” and Han himself urged party members to vote as much as possible in the first round.

Other candidates plan to prevent Han from securing a majority in the first round and aim for a turnaround in the runoff. Candidates Na and Won have been conducting behind-the-scenes negotiations for candidate unification but reportedly decided not to unify until after the first round of voting.

Handonghun (from left), Nakyeongwon, Yunsanghyeon, and Won Heeryong, candidates for the People Power Party leadership, raise their hands to greet at the 4th Party Convention and the joint speech meeting for Seoul, Incheon, Gyeonggi, and Gangwon held on the 17th at Goyang Sono Arena in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Candidates Na Kyung-won, Won Hee-ryong, and Yoon Sang-hyun have criticized Han’s proposal of a third-party special prosecutor law regarding Chae Sang-byeong, accusing it of aligning with the opposition’s impeachment movement. They also attacked Han for causing adverse effects on party-government relations due to conflicts with President Yoon Seok-yeol and ignoring texts from First Lady Kim Keon-hee. Furthermore, they launched a relentless offensive against Han by raising suspicions about his management of the comment team during his tenure as Minister of Justice, but paradoxically, Han’s approval ratings have been rising.

However, there are expectations that Han’s revelation about requesting the dismissal of the fast-track indictment could backfire. On the 17th, during a CBS-hosted broadcast debate, Han disclosed that “Candidate Na requested the dismissal of the fast-track collision case indictment during his time as Minister of Justice.” Candidate Na is currently on trial for charges related to obstructing parliamentary meetings by occupying the National Assembly’s legislative office and meeting rooms in 2019, when he was the floor leader of the Liberty Korea Party (the predecessor of the People Power Party), opposing the opposition’s mixed-member proportional representation system and the High-ranking Officials’ Crime Investigation Office (the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, or CIO). At that time, 23 Liberty Korea Party members and 5 Democratic Party members were indicted.

Han attacked Na for requesting the dismissal of the indictment while serving as Minister of Justice, but within the party and among other candidates, this is interpreted as a request to dismiss charges filed unfairly during a political struggle. Although Han apologized via Facebook the day before, criticism from key party figures continued. Many People Power Party lawmakers criticized Han through Facebook and Telegram group chats, and metropolitan government heads affiliated with the party?including Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, Gyeongbuk Governor Lee Cheol-woo, Chungnam Governor Kim Tae-heum, and Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo?also attacked Han on Facebook. During the 5th broadcast debate hosted by KBS the previous day, Han’s rebuttal that the Prosecutor General who indicted numerous ruling and opposition lawmakers in January 2020 was President Yoon Seok-yeol was met with counterattacks from other candidates calling it a “fake apology” and warning of “intra-party conflict if elected.”

On the morning of the same day, Candidate Na expressed in an interview with Maeil Shinmun’s YouTube channel, “I believe I will advance to the runoff. If many party members vote with the party and the country in mind, it will not be a popularity contest,” adding, “The perceptions and statements related to the fast-track imply a lot. I expect party members will reconsider once again.”