Kwon Young-se "Ruling Party Not Considering Early Presidential Election"... Cautious Distance from President Yoon (Comprehensive)

Kwon Young-se's New Year's Press Conference
Raises Need to Clarify Election Fraud Allegations
No Consideration of Impeachment for Acting Chief Justice of Constitutional Court

Kwon Young-se, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, compared the party's approval rating rise to the emergency martial law incident last December, saying, "It is not because we did well, but because people were disappointed with the opposition's behavior, especially the public who believe they cannot entrust the country to Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party." Chairman Kwon stated, "We understand the issue." Regarding President Yoon Seok-yeol, he appeared to be clearly contemplating how to maintain distance.

At a New Year's press conference held at the National Assembly on the 6th, Chairman Kwon shared his thoughts since the launch of the Emergency Response Committee. He said, "The reason the party did not receive a good evaluation before the martial law was due to discord between the party and the government and internal conflicts within the party, which appeared very unstable," adding, "Supporters were disappointed seeing the ruling party, responsible for the government, constantly clashing with the government or fighting over similar issues, but those issues have been resolved."

Kwon Young-se, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is holding a New Year's press conference at the National Assembly on the 6th. 2025.2.6. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Regarding criticism that internal reform was insufficient, he admitted relatively frankly. He explained, "I evaluate that reform was not fully implemented," adding, "There were many complex issues, and since opinions within the party differed, harmony was the top priority during the adjustment process."

He also said the direction of reform would differ from the Democratic Party's rightward shift. Chairman Kwon stated, "As a conservative party, it is meaningless to unconditionally move to the left or emphasize the center," adding, "There must be sincerity." Instead, he said, "We need to set a direction that can gain maximum agreement within the party."

Maintaining Distance from Yoon Is a Challenge

Chairman Kwon drew a line regarding the early presidential election scenario. However, he referred to a series of policy development movements within the party as 'self-strengthening.' He said, "We are not considering an early presidential election," adding, "An early presidential election basically presupposes the acceptance of impeachment, so that is not something we should consider." However, he said, "In principle, if our party gains much support from the public through harmony and reform, whether it is a local election, presidential election, or parliamentary election, we can achieve good results, so it is time to strengthen ourselves."

He responded to claims inside and outside the party that the People Power Party should distance itself from President Yoon. Chairman Kwon said, "Does formally expelling someone from the party mean severing ties?" adding, "For the party to properly reform, fixing problematic issues is the real severance." He said, "Did expelling former President Park Geun-hye solve the problem?" adding, "I don't think ignoring and pushing someone outside formally means the issue is resolved."

Regarding Chairman Kwon and others visiting President Yoon, who is currently detained, he explained, "We went out of human decency." However, about President Yoon's remarks to the Constitutional Court during the emergency martial law period, such as "It feels like chasing shadows," he said, "I think it is inappropriate to comment," adding, "I will point out procedural errors." He also said about party members' visits, "They are conducted under the supervision of prison guards, so I am skeptical about whether prison politics can be conducted."

Kwon Young-se, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is holding a New Year's press conference at the National Assembly on the 6th. 2025.2.6. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Raising the Need to Clarify Election Fraud Allegations

Regarding President Yoon's election fraud claims used as justification for emergency martial law, he said, "Rather than having a special stance, since many people point out problems, it is necessary to review voting procedures, methods, and systems so that the public does not harbor doubts about the current system."

Regarding legislative movements within the party to resolve election fraud suspicions, he said, "There is a public opinion that there were fraudulent acts in the election," adding, "Rather than investigating and fixing past incidents, if it is about improving and reforming the election system itself to prevent concerns, it is worth considering."

Regarding President Yoon's impeachment trial, he raised concerns about the Constitutional Court's fairness. He said, "Many people worry about the ideological bias of constitutional judges," adding, "We will do our best as the ruling party to ensure decisions are not based on faction or ideology but are fair and acceptable to all citizens."

He also stated that despite questioning the Constitutional Court's fairness, the party does not consider pushing for impeachment. Chairman Kwon said, "It would be good if the conservative camp and the National Assembly did not have to raise issues about the Constitutional Court," adding, "Until now, the Constitutional Court has been able to work without major criticism because of the principle of one ruling party, one opposition, and one consensus, which prevented the opposition from having too strong an identity that could raise doubts about objectivity." He continued, "It is very unfortunate that such rules have disappeared now." However, he said, "(The People Power Party) is not a party that calls for impeachment indiscriminately," adding, "There are enough doubts about fairness and objectivity regarding Moon Hyung-bae, Acting Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, to be handled by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. This means we want the Constitutional Court to operate more objectively, not that we are a party that pushes for impeachment at every opportunity."

Regarding calls to amend the constitution, he said, "Although we have a presidential system, the fact that past presidents have faced unfortunate situations during and after their terms suggests there are problems with the constitutional system," adding, "The opposition, excluding Representative Lee Jae-myung, including former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo, agrees on the need for constitutional amendment, and the People Power Party plans to form a constitutional amendment special committee as the ruling party to discuss this." The Emergency Response Committee appointed Joo Ho-young, Speaker of the National Assembly (affiliated with the People Power Party), as the chairman of the party's constitutional amendment special committee that day.

Regarding the key future task of appealing to the centrist voters, he said, "No matter how much the political world puts on a show, not meeting right-wing people at all does not mean standing in the center," adding, "We need to respond effectively to issues that ordinary citizens are interested in and have needs for."

Regarding pension reform, he said, "It needs to be done quickly," adding, "We should form a pension special committee as soon as possible, first confirm 14%, and decide on the income replacement rate as soon as possible, then proceed with structural reform in earnest next time."