People Power Party Leadership Embarks on Two-Day Busan Visit to Solidify Regional Public Sentiment

Supreme Council Meeting Held at Busan City Party Headquarters
Seoul City Party Chairperson Election Also Underway

The leadership of the People Power Party held its first on-site Supreme Council meeting in Busan on September 15, continuing its offensive against the government and the ruling party. This move is seen as both an effort to strengthen alliances with outside forces and to stoke the possibility of street protests, while also working to solidify public sentiment in Busan, a key battleground for next year’s local elections.

Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, said at the Supreme Council meeting held at the party’s Busan Metropolitan City branch in Suyeong District, Busan, “They are trying to destroy the opposition by establishing a Special Court for Insurrection, shaking the judiciary under the guise of reform but actually undermining it, and seizing local administrative power with the sole intention of dictatorship.”

Yonhap News

There is analysis that Jang’s two-day visit to Busan, which began the previous day, was made with the possibility of street protests in mind. Within the party, there is growing support for taking to the streets if the Democratic Party continues to push legislative reforms and the special prosecutor’s investigation proceeds. If, at the National Assembly plenary session on September 25, the government organization act amendment-including prosecution reform-passes under the Democratic Party’s leadership and further judicial reforms such as the Special Court for Insurrection are pursued, there is speculation that the party could once again join forces with the “asphalt right” for rallies in public squares.

There is also the aim of securing regional support ahead of next year’s local elections. Although Park Hyungjun, a member of the People Power Party, is currently serving as mayor of Busan, it is difficult to predict the outcome of next year’s local elections. Jang criticized, “The Lee Jaemyung administration sees the relocation of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries not as an opportunity for Busan’s development or balanced regional growth, but merely as a tool to seize local administrative power.”

The People Power Party is also holding an election for the Seoul City Party Chairperson on this day. Assemblywoman Bae Hyunjin, Assemblyman Cho Junghoon, and Kang Seongman, head of the Geumcheon party association, are running. This contest is seen as a chance to gauge strategies for defending Seoul in the upcoming local elections. As Assemblywoman Bae and Assemblyman Cho hold differing positions on the 12·3 Martial Law and are respectively associated with the pro-Han Donghoon and pro-Yoon Sukyeol factions, attention is focused on which way the delegate votes will swing.