"Where Has This Clear-Faced Jang Donghyuk Gone?" Bae Hyunjin Posts, Then Deletes Old Photos...People Power Party Infighting Deepens

Recently received heavy disciplinary action for unauthorized posting of a minor's photo
"Why are you selling your own values?"...direct jab followed by post deletion
People Power Party's internal conflict spreads to local election nominations

Bae Hyunjin, a People Power Party lawmaker (Songpa-eul district in Seoul) who received a heavy disciplinary measure of a one-year suspension of party membership, posted on social media a past late-night photo taken with People Power Party leader Jang Donghyuk and then deleted it within 10 minutes, drawing attention to the background of her actions.

Around 12:30 a.m. on the 25th, Assemblywoman Bae posted two photos on her social media with the caption, "Where has this clear-faced Jang Donghyuk gone?" The photos she uploaded showed Assemblywoman Bae sitting side by side with Leader Jang and Assemblyman Jeong Jeomsik, smiling together, and another scene of them feeding a flock of seagulls from the deck of a boat.

A Facebook post that People Power Party lawmaker Bae Hyunjin posted and then deleted around 12:30 a.m. on the 25th. Bae Hyunjin SNS

In the post, Assemblywoman Bae wrote, "We shared one heart to build a competent and handsome conservative party supported by our people, and yet our innocence, laughing and tossing food together to the seagulls, did not even last a single parliamentary term." She then added, "For what reason is he selling off his once-so-clear values like that?" leaving a remark seemingly aimed at Leader Jang. However, the post was deleted less than 10 minutes after it went up.

The People Power Party is currently embroiled in internal strife over how to respond to former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was recently sentenced to life imprisonment on charges of being the "ringleader of an insurrection." While Leader Jang has drawn a line at cutting ties with the former president and is effectively maintaining a "Yoon Again" stance, demands for a complete break with Yoon, centered around the pro-Han Donghoon faction, are erupting. The conflict is also showing signs of spreading to future candidate nominations for local elections.

Meanwhile, on the 13th, Assemblywoman Bae received the heavy disciplinary measure of a one-year suspension of party membership from the party's Central Ethics Committee. Among the four complaints filed against her with the Ethics Committee, the committee judged "unauthorized posting on social media of photos of a minor child" to be the decisive reason for discipline. In response, Assemblywoman Bae held a press conference, protesting that it was "a sanction I expected but cannot accept," and asserting that "the only way for the Jang Donghyuk leadership to survive is through internal purges." As internal conflict within the party intensifies, political interpretations are expected to continue regarding Assemblywoman Bae's latest social media post and its swift deletion.