"Despair Over the Perception of Holding a Party Convention Without Innovation"
Party Leadership Candidates Expected to Debate Innovation Proposal at Convention
Yoon Heesook, the Innovation Committee Chair of the People Power Party, who has targeted lawmakers Na Kyungwon, Yoon Sanghyun, Jang Donghyuk, and Song Eonseok as subjects for personnel reform, stated, "It is perfectly fine to criticize me for supposedly being hostile to 'Na-Yoon-Jang-Song,'" but added, "I find the collective attack on the innovation proposal itself very regrettable."
On July 21, during an interview on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyunjung's News Show,' Chair Yoon said, "The party's top priority should be to break with the past and cross the sea of impeachment. However, there is a current that keeps linking us to the past and continuously plunges the party back into the sea of impeachment." She continued, "There are people making hardline and reactionary remarks, which are now being labeled as far-right. That is the biggest enemy of our party."
In particular, she described the behavior of these pro-Yoon lawmakers as a "collective attack," emphasizing again, "It is extremely regrettable to the point where it feels as if these individuals have no understanding whatsoever of the crisis the party is facing." Chair Yoon also explained that the reason she selected Na Kyungwon and the other three as targets for personnel reform is "because they are the ones putting the party in the most danger."
Furthermore, Chair Yoon said that after Ahn Cheolsoo resigned as Innovation Committee Chair, she quickly drafted and reported a reform proposal, but "when I went on the 17th, there was no meaningful discussion at all?only nitpicking. It made me realize that the leadership is taking this moment very lightly. They are far too unconcerned about how the public will judge holding a party convention without any innovation. It was extremely disheartening." She cited the 2017 impeachment, when the party lost the presidential election and Hong Joonpyo, then party leader, ran for the convention without any reforms, as an example: "During that convention, our approval rating kept dropping until it hit 7%. We are on that same path now."
Additionally, Chair Yoon commented on Korean history lecturer Jeon Hangil's claim that "I joined the party with 100,000 subscribers," analyzing, "His claims about his own influence are somewhat exaggerated." She went on to say, "The real problem lies with the party's senior members who provide him such a platform. In order to protect their own political careers, these senior members amplify his voice as if it were the party's, causing people to mistakenly believe his voice represents the party. That is their irresponsibility." She called on the party leadership to take action against Jeon, including expulsion, and added, "The senior members who enabled him should also be disciplined. The leadership should take even stronger measures than what I demanded from those individuals." As for the possibility of running in the party convention herself, she dismissed it, saying, "Directly entering the race would undermine the integrity of the Innovation Committee and would not be helpful."
Meanwhile, as the People Power Party enters the party convention phase, the position of the innovation proposal put forward by Chair Yoon Heesook has become precarious. Since there are many negative views on the proposal regardless of faction, even if a general assembly of lawmakers is held, it is unlikely to be approved. Some argue that, in effect, the fate of the innovation proposal now rests in the hands of those vying for party leadership. Furthermore, there is speculation that, following the turmoil surrounding the Innovation Committee, it will be difficult to form a similar committee within the party again. In the past, the People Power Party tried to overcome crises with the 'Choi Jaehyung Innovation Committee' and the 'In Yo-han Innovation Committee,' but both attempts failed.
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