Growing Noise Over Party Branch Reorganization... If the Party Convention Is Delayed, It May Be Held in June Next Year

Speculation Grows on Postponing Jeondaedae Election... Major Party Branch Reforms Weighed
Top Poll Candidate Yoo Seung-min Faces Challenge in Finding Rival... Kwon Young-se and Won Hee-ryong May Join

Jeong Jin-seok, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is attending the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 17th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Lee Ji-eun and Lee Hyun-joo] As the Emergency Response Committee led by Jeong Jin-seok begins reorganizing party district chiefs through open recruitment and party audits, internal opposition within the party is surfacing. Yoon Sang-hyun, considered one of the next party leadership candidates, criticized, "Focus on preparing for the party convention," but considering the party district reorganization and the preparation period for the convention, there is also a growing expectation within the party that the convention will be delayed to March or April next year, contrary to initial expectations.

On the 18th, Representative Yoon appeared on KBS Radio and said, "It is nonsense to reorganize under a short-term system lasting only 3 to 4 months," adding, "If it is a transitional system, they should focus on preparing for the party convention. Even during the last presidential and local elections, party district chiefs were not reorganized, yet the elections were held." On the 13th, Yoon also criticized via social media, calling the plan to hold a "party district grand festival" under the hastily formed emergency committee leadership "contradictory."

With the dismissal of the injunction filed by former leader Lee Jun-seok resolving the 'judicial risk,' the emergency committee is pushing strongly for party district reorganization. The dominant interpretation is that this is a purge of 'non-Yoon' party district chiefs, including those appointed during Lee Jun-seok and Yoo Seung-min's tenure, ahead of the party convention and general elections. When former Supreme Council member Jeong Mi-kyung, a pro-Lee Jun-seok faction member, was appointed as the party district chief for Seongnam Bundang in June, Emergency Committee Chair Jeong directly criticized it as "party district shopping."

However, conducting party district reorganization requires at least 15 days to form the special committee and a minimum of 2 months for the party audit. Considering the preparation period for the party convention, holding the convention in January or February next year, as initially expected, becomes practically impossible. Accordingly, there are forecasts within the party that the realistic timing for the convention will be at least March or April, possibly delayed until June. A People Power Party official said, "It could be expected as late as June," adding, "The entire party audit takes 3 to 4 months, and if there are objections, it can take up to half a year."

Especially since former Representative Yoo, a leading figure of the 'non-Yoon' faction, is polling first in many surveys, there is no urgent need to hold the party convention early. Holding the convention in June next year could also pave the way for cabinet members like Kwon Young-se and Won Hee-ryong to enter the race. Former Representative Na Kyung-won, who was appointed vice-chair of the Low Birthrate and Aging Society Committee and was effectively sidelined from the party leadership race, still appears to be keeping the door open for a leadership challenge, which seems to reflect considerations of delaying the convention.

Due to Yoo's high approval ratings, voices within the party are calling for changes to the party convention rules. Five-term Representative Cho Kyung-tae, also considered a leadership candidate, raised his voice on Facebook on the 17th, saying, "Let's innovate the party leader election method to 100% party member voting." This suggests increasing the party member vote weight from the current 70% to 100%. However, Representative Yoo Sang-beom, classified as pro-Yoon, drew a line, stating, "Rules are rules. When we set the 7:3 rule, it was after much discussion." Nonetheless, since the anti-wrong-vote clause is already stipulated in the party constitution, its introduction is considered highly likely.

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