People Power Party's Grand Finale Today at the Party Convention... Task of Healing Division and Conflict

4th Party Congress at Kintex... New Leadership Announced
Voter Turnout 48.51%... 6.59%p Lower Than 3·8 Congress
Within Party, "Candidates' Acceptance of Results and Unity Important"

The People Power Party will hold its party convention on the 23rd to elect the next leadership. Regardless of which of the four candidates for party leader wins, the top priority is to resolve the conflicts between candidates and internal divisions that surfaced during the convention phase.

On the same day at 2 p.m., the People Power Party will hold its 4th party convention at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, and announce the newly elected party leader, four Supreme Council members, and the youth Supreme Council member. After the pre-event and official ceremony, at around 4 p.m., Seo Byung-soo, the party’s election commissioner, will declare the start of vote counting, which will take about 30 minutes. Then, at around 4:30 p.m., the results for the youth Supreme Council member, Supreme Council members, and party leader will be announced all at once. Therefore, the fate of the nine candidates for Supreme Council members?Kim Min-jeon, Kim Jae-won, Kim Hyung-dae, Park Yong-chan, Park Jeong-hoon, Lee Sang-gyu, In Yo-han, Jang Dong-hyuk, and Ham Woon-kyung?as well as the four candidates for youth Supreme Council member?Kim Eun-hee, Kim Jeong-sik, Park Sang-hyun, and Jin Jong-oh?will also be decided.

If a candidate for party leader receives a majority of votes, acceptance speeches will be given by the youth Supreme Council member, Supreme Council members, and the elected party leader. Then, when the new party leader receives the party flag from Hwang Woo-yeo, the emergency committee chairman, the convention will conclude. However, if no candidate receives a majority, a runoff vote between the top two candidates will be held on the 28th.

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 final voter turnout for the party leader election at this convention was 48.51%, which is 6.59 percentage points lower than the turnout at last year’s March 8th convention. This is far below the 65% turnout that candidate Han Dong-hoon’s camp had requested from party members and the public. Because of this, despite forecasts that candidate Han, who has weaker party organizational support, would win decisively in the first round, a yellow light has been turned on. The camps of candidates Na Kyung-won, Won Hee-ryong, and Yoon Sang-hyun expect a runoff and argue that candidate Han will ultimately lose.

However, regardless of who becomes party leader, the urgent task is to resolve the divisions and conflicts caused by various controversies, allegations, and harsh remarks during the convention period. Not only is this necessary for damage control, but unity among figures within the ruling party is also crucial for party reform. Previously, conflicts arose over the third-party special prosecutor law proposed by Chae Sang-byeong, allegations of vote-buying against candidate Han, and clashes between pro-Yoon and pro-Han factions. Recently, candidate Na Kyung-won requested the dismissal of the indictment related to the Fast-Track case, which candidate Han exposed, causing dissatisfaction within the ruling party. The day before, candidate Na, along with candidates Won Hee-ryong and Yoon Sang-hyun, dined with former and current lawmakers indicted in the Fast-Track case, stirring internal opposition against candidate Han.

Within the party, there are calls to prioritize the nation and the party over individual politicians, regardless of the election outcome. Yoo Jun-sang, a senior advisor to the People Power Party, advised, "After the convention, the winner should show magnanimity toward the loser, and the loser should accept the results. If this does not happen, public distrust in politics will arise, and ultimately both the party and the people will suffer."

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@