'PPP One-Top' Song Eonseok to Launch Reform Committee Soon... Internal Voices Say "It Won't Fulfill Its Role"

Reform Committee to Lead People Power Party Renewal Launches This Week
Voices Within Party Say "No Major Achievements Expected"
Concerns Over Emergency Committee Lineup Being "Far from Renewal"

The Emergency Response Committee, chaired concurrently by Song Eonseok, Floor Leader of the People Power Party, will officially launch on the 1st. With a "one-top system" in place, Song is set to assert his presence by launching both a Reform Committee to lead the party's renewal and a Real Estate Task Force (TF) targeting the Lee Jaemyung administration this week. However, within the party, there are growing voices expressing skepticism about the potential for innovation from the temporary "Song Eonseok Emergency Response Committee," which is composed mostly of pro-Yoon factions. As a result, party management and the coordination of factional conflicts are not expected to proceed smoothly.

Song Eonseok, Acting Party Leader and Floor Leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the on-site party meeting held in front of the Presidential Office in Yongsan, Seoul, on the 1st. Photo by Yonhap News

The People Power Party will convene a National Committee meeting on this day to approve the establishment of the Emergency Response Committee and the appointment of its chairperson. After the parliamentary meeting the previous day, Song told reporters, "I will temporarily serve as the Emergency Response Committee chair and, through the National Committee, form the party's highest decision-making body." The intention is to operate under a "management-type emergency committee" system until the party convention, which is expected in August. The new emergency committee members have been designated as lawmakers Park Deokheum, Cho Eunhee, and Kim Daesik, along with Park Jinho, party chapter head for Gimpo-gap, and Hong Hyeongseon, party chapter head for Hwaseong-si-gap.

With the departure of former Emergency Response Committee Chair Kim Yongtae due to the expiration of his term and the launch of the new committee, Song is expected to accelerate the formation of the Reform Committee, as he previously promised. A People Power Party parliamentary source said, "Since the emergency committee starts today, the lineup for the Reform Committee is also expected to be announced this week." Although Song had pledged to form the Reform Committee and discuss party renewal measures after his election on June 16, progress was delayed due to disagreements with former chair Kim.

The issue is whether the Reform Committee can fulfill its role with only about a month left before the party convention. One first-term People Power Party lawmaker commented, "Even if the Reform Committee is formed now, there is less than one or two months before the party convention, so it is questionable whether any significant results can be achieved." The lawmaker added, "What matters more than the formation itself is what role the committee will play, but it will be difficult to present proposals that resonate with the public."

People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jaeseop also appeared on CBS Radio that day and criticized the formation of the Reform Committee, saying, "It would have sufficed to coordinate and pass the five reform proposals put forward by Chair Kim. Is it really necessary to go through the process of forming a Reform Committee?" He further questioned, "If the party convention is held quickly, the emergency committee's term will last only 40 to 50 days. What kind of innovation can be achieved during that period?"

There is also considerable disappointment regarding the lineup of emergency committee members announced the previous day. Despite party renewal emerging as the top priority following the early presidential election defeat, the emergency committee consists mainly of the old mainstream, who had led opposition to the impeachment of former President Yoon. Lawmaker Park Deokheum visited the Hannam-dong residence after the imposition of martial law to oppose the arrest of former President Yoon, while external figures such as Hong and Park also supported the opposition to impeachment.

Even given the "management-type emergency committee" formed to prepare for the party convention, there are skeptical responses suggesting that the party has drifted too far from renewal. In response, a parliamentary source said, "The two external emergency committee members have no close personal ties to Floor Leader Song. Since they are from the Seoul metropolitan area and one is a member of the younger generation in his 30s (Park Jinho), the appointments are more about balancing region and generation." The source added, "Moreover, since this emergency committee will only last about a month and a half, it is more important to focus on the soon-to-be-announced Reform Committee and the election of the next party leader, rather than attaching too much significance to the current committee."