Jang Donghyuk: "Obstacles Must Be Removed for Unity... Bold Nominations Key to Local Election Victory"

"Strengthening the Party Should Come Before Immediate Unification"
Emphasizes Personnel Reform and Innovation in Nominations

On January 2, Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, once again emphasized the principle of self-strengthening before pursuing a grand conservative coalition, a demand being raised both inside and outside the party. He expressed his intention to address the issue of the party member bulletin board related to former leader Han Donghoon, stating that obstacles must first be removed in order to move toward unity and alliance.

During a press conference held at the National Assembly on January 2, when asked about party reform measures, Jang said, "I am making the final considerations regarding the location, timing, and method," adding, "There are various opinions, but I believe that talking about a grand conservative coalition before the election could undermine our self-strengthening and expansion."

The previous day, Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon had called on the party leadership to pursue a broad conservative coalition to secure victory in the June 3 local elections and to issue a sincere apology regarding the December 3 Martial Law.

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In response, Jang stated, "Rather than concluding that unity is needed based on the current situation, I believe it is more important to focus our efforts on strengthening the party." He continued, "Alliance and unification should be achieved in a way that can move the public at the appropriate time."

He also emphasized that obstacles to unification must be removed first. Jang said, "Those responsible for the obstacles must remove them so that the party leader has room to pursue unity," adding, "If we push for alliance and unification in a perfunctory manner while outstanding issues remain, it could sap the party's energy." This is interpreted as a call for former leader Han to take responsibility, as the party affairs audit committee's investigation into the so-called party member bulletin board controversy has concluded, and a decision from the central ethics committee is pending.

Regarding the martial law situation, Jang reiterated, "I participated in the vote to lift martial law at the time and voted in favor, making my political stance on martial law clear," adding, "Nevertheless, repeatedly raising the issue can only be seen as politically motivated." He went on to say, "President Lee Jaemyung's attempt to use martial law for political purposes while calling for grand unity is contradictory," and stressed, "We must now leave martial law in the past in political terms and move forward toward unity and the future."

As a strategy for victory in the June local elections, Jang proposed personnel reform and a revolution in candidate nominations. He explained that achieving personnel reform with new, inspiring figures and making bold nominations are prerequisites for winning the local elections.

Meanwhile, regarding the Democratic Party's alleged nomination bribery, Jang called for a special investigation to uncover the truth. He also announced plans to establish a corruption reporting center to eradicate nomination bribery in all elections, including this year's June local elections.

Jang said, "Even now, Assembly members Kang Sunwoo and Kim Byungki should immediately resign from their posts," adding, "President Lee Jaemyung, who was the party leader at the time, is also clearly subject to investigation." He emphasized, "The dark backroom deals of buying nominations with money are the worst crimes that undermine democracy," and declared, "The People Power Party will not tolerate any actions that hinder fair primaries."

Regarding Lee Hyehoon, the nominee for the inaugural Minister of Planning and Budget in the Lee Jaemyung administration, Jang demanded the withdrawal of her nomination. He said, "Leaving aside issues of political betrayal, she is a candidate lacking the qualifications of a minister, including yelling and abusive language," and added, "President Lee should withdraw her nomination and apologize to the public for this personnel fiasco."