One Day Before the People Power Party Convention, Na Kyung-won and Won Hee-ryong Target Yeongnam, Han Dong-hoon and Yoon Sang-hyun Focus on the Capital Region in Final Push

People Power Party Convention D-1 Final Support Appeal
Na Kyung-won and Won Hee-ryong Wrap Up at Daegu Seomun Market
Yoon Sang-hyun 'Documentary Preview', Han Dong-hoon 'Party Member Meeting'

On the 22nd, the day before the People Power Party's July 23 leadership election, candidates Na Kyung-won and Won Hee-ryong will make their final campaign stops in the Yeongnam region, while candidates Han Dong-hoon and Yoon Sang-hyun will target the metropolitan areas of Gyeonggi and Seoul, respectively, in a last effort to win votes. This schedule is interpreted as a strategic move considering that a significant portion of the party's 841,614 members reside in Yeongnam (about 40%) and the metropolitan area (about 37%).

Candidate Na plans to conclude her campaign by visiting the Jagalchi Market in Busan in the morning for a meeting with the merchants' association and communication with citizens, followed by a visit to Seomun Market in Daegu, known as a stronghold of conservatism, to engage with the public. Candidate Won will also start his day at Donghwasa Temple in Daegu and finish at Seomun Market. He intends to express gratitude to his supporters by dining with Jang Young-gi, the president of Gaepung Sanghoe who is also his sponsor and operates a store in Seomun Market, and Park Geum-mi.

Candidate Yoon, who has emphasized "conservative reconstruction" since the start of the 22nd National Assembly term, plans to hold a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall in the afternoon to appeal for support. Candidate Han, who visited Yeongnam consecutively on the 20th and 21st, will hold meetings with party members in Pocheon-Gapyeong (Kim Yong-tae) and Icheon (Song Seok-jun), constituencies that elected People Power Party lawmakers in the 22nd general election, as his final schedule, and will appeal for support from metropolitan party members and the youth. Since ARS voting for party members and public opinion polls for the general public are ongoing until that day, this is interpreted as an effort to consolidate votes from Yeongnam and metropolitan party members and supporters.

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@

The lower turnout in mobile and ARS voting among party members from the 19th to the day before compared to the previous leadership election is also seen as influencing the candidates' schedules. The mobile (19th-20th) and ARS (21st) voting rate among party members from the 19th to 21st was 45.98%, down 7.15 percentage points from the March 8 leadership election last year. Analysts suggest that many party members may have given up voting amid the notorious "scandalous leadership election," marked by mutual accusations, slander among candidates, and even violent incidents among supporters.

While Candidate Han's camp, which had expected a 65% turnout, expressed regret, they believe that the consolidation of votes from party members in constituencies represented by pro-Yoon faction lawmakers did not materialize. Other candidates interpret that the Han Dong-hoon wave was not as strong as expected and predict the election will go to a runoff. Kim Min-soo, spokesperson for Candidate Na's camp, appeared on CBS Radio that day and said, "The idea that 'Anyway, the party leader will be Han Dong-hoon' is broken," adding, "I think it will go to a second round." However, Jeong Kwang-jae, spokesperson for Candidate Han's camp, argued, "Because the gap in support rates is large, those supporting the underdog did not actively vote," and claimed, "He will win a majority in the first round."

The People Power Party will announce the elected party leader at the leadership election held on the 23rd at KINTEX in Ilsan, Goyang City, Gyeonggi Province. If no candidate receives a majority of votes, a runoff vote will be held between the top two candidates, with the results announced on the 28th.