"Victory Energy to Local Elections"… People Power Party Initiates Party Position Reshuffle

Appointment of Secretary-General Han Gi-ho... Leading Pending Issues Including Merger
Additional Appointments Expected Soon, Including Executive Vice President of Strategic Planning

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The People Power Party, having secured victory in the presidential election, is accelerating preparations for the upcoming local elections in June. The strategy is to ride the wave of public sentiment and push for a win in the local elections as well. On this day, the party leadership announced a rapid start to candidate nominations along with a reshuffle of party positions, including the appointment of Han Ki-ho as Secretary-General.

On the 14th, the People Power Party held a Supreme Council meeting and approved the appointment of Han as Secretary-General. In his opening remarks, Lee Jun-seok, the party leader, explained the background of the appointment: "Secretary-General Han had already been preparing for the local elections and other matters before the presidential election, so we are considering bringing him back to strengthen that continuity." He added, "Facing the Democratic Party's 180 seats, we have no choice but to reflect the public's will, and our task is to support the Yoon Seok-yeol administration with an overwhelming victory in the local elections." He emphasized, "It is more important than anything else to carry out a smooth candidate nomination process along with the bold reform plans the party has prepared."

Han Ki-ho, Secretary General of the People Power Party, is attending the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 13th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Han, who previously served as Secretary-General before the presidential election, is expected to lead preparations for the local elections and handle internal party issues such as the merger with the People Party. In a phone interview with this publication, he said regarding the local election preparation strategy, "We plan to form the Candidate Nomination Committee as soon as possible and prepare for candidate selection." He stressed, "First is 'fairness,' and second is selecting 'winnable candidates.' We will avoid strategic nominations as much as possible and aim for a primary election system." Leader Lee also hinted, "Next week, we might release quick guidelines on nominations and possibly form the Candidate Nomination Committee."

Regarding the merger with the People Party, Han said, "After receiving a report on the specific agreements between Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People Party, and President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol, we will proceed with discussions with the People Party based on that."

Following the appointment of the Secretary-General, appointments for the Vice Secretary-General of Strategic Planning, Vice Secretary-General, and Director of the Yeouido Institute are expected to be made sequentially at the Supreme Council meeting, possibly as early as this Thursday. For the successor to Lee Cheol-gyu, Vice Secretary-General of Strategic Planning, second-term lawmaker Sung Il-jong is a strong candidate. Additionally, Kim Seok-ki, a second-term lawmaker, is reportedly nominated for the position of Vice Secretary-General of Organization, while Director of the Yeouido Institute Ji Sang-wook is likely to be retained.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.