[Profile] From Pro-Han Faction to Hardline Anti-Impeachment Leader... Who Is Jang Donghyuk?

Jang Donghyuk Elected as New People Power Party Leader
Shifts Political Stance Amid Impeachment Turmoil
Distinguishes Himself from Kim Moonsoo by Pledging to Purge Pro-Han Faction

Jang Donghyuk, a two-term lawmaker who has been elected as the new leader of the People Power Party, was once classified as a key figure in the pro-Han (Han Donghoon) faction. However, after the political turmoil surrounding the impeachment of former President Yoon Sukyeol, he emerged as a prominent leader of the hardline anti-impeachment faction.

Born in 1969, Jang is from Boryeong, South Chungcheong Province, and graduated from the Department of French Education at Seoul National University.

He passed the 35th Higher Civil Service Examination in 1991 and began his public service career as an administrative officer at the Ministry of Education. In 2001, he passed the 43rd Bar Examination and entered the legal profession as a judge. He later served as a judge at the Daejeon, Incheon, and Seoul Central District Courts, as a dispatched judge to the National Assembly, and as a presiding judge at the Gwangju District Court.

Jang Donghyuk, the newly appointed leader of the People Power Party, is waving the party flag at the 6th party convention runoff held at the National Assembly Library on August 26, 2025. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

While serving as the presiding judge at the Gwangju District Court, Jang was in charge of the trial of former President Chun Doohwan, who was indicted for defaming the late Father Cho Biu and the victims of the May 18 Democratization Movement. He resigned in order to run in the 2020 general election.

In 2022, after Kim Taeheum resigned his parliamentary seat to run for governor of South Chungcheong Province, Jang entered the National Assembly by winning the by-election for Boryeong-Seocheon, Kim’s former constituency. He was re-elected in the same constituency in the 22nd general election.

In the National Assembly, Jang utilized his legal expertise to serve on major standing committees such as the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts. He also held key party positions, including floor spokesperson and secretary general, earning a reputation as a rational figure with keen political acumen within the party.

He began to be classified as part of the pro-Han faction from late 2023, when Han Donghoon led the emergency response committee. Despite being a first-term lawmaker at the time, he served as secretary general and led the general election campaign, becoming known as one of Han Donghoon's closest associates. In last year’s July 23 party convention, he ran as Han’s running mate in the supreme council election and was elected as the top supreme council member.

However, after the impeachment crisis at the end of last year, Jang made a dramatic shift in his political stance. He stood at the forefront of anti-impeachment rallies and aligned himself closely with the party’s hardline supporters.

In this party convention, he took an even more hardline stance than fellow anti-impeachment candidate Kim Moonsoo, former Minister of Employment and Labor. He stated that there was “no principled reason to block former President Yoon Sukyeol’s rejoining of the party” and actively formed alliances with far-right figures such as Jeon Hangil. Toward the pro-Han faction, he distinguished himself from former Minister Kim by taking a tough stance, saying, “If you speak against the party line, you should leave the party,” and accusing them of “internal sabotage.”

Jang’s victory in today’s election is interpreted as a result of his strategy to eradicate the pro-impeachment faction within the party and to lead a hardline struggle against the Lee Jaemyung administration, which resonated with party members.