The Next Floor Leader of the People Power Party, Kim Hak-yong and Yoon Jae-ok, Seen as 'Top Two'... To Be Elected on the 7th of Next Month

Joo Ho-young "I will only complete the term of the previous floor leader" keeps promise
Park Dae-chul appointed policy committee chairman... Floor leader two-strong competition lineup finalized

The People Power Party has decided to elect a new floor leader on the 7th of next month.

Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the People Power Party, explained at a party meeting held at the National Assembly on the 23rd, "My term is set to end on April 8," adding, "Originally, the floor leader's term is one year, but last year it was decided to align it with the previous leader's term, which ends on April 8."

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, is giving a greeting at the 1st National Issues Grand Debate "How to Reform the Pension System" held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 21st. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Although Joo was newly elected as floor leader in September last year, he had declared that he would only serve the remainder of the term of the previous floor leader, Kwon Seong-dong. Former floor leader Kwon stepped down early amid controversies during the emergency committee system following the disciplinary action against former party leader Lee Jun-seok. At that time, text messages exchanged between President Yoon and Kwon, including phrases like 'internal stabbing' and 'cherry thumbs up,' were made public, sparking controversy.

With the appointment of the policy committee chair and the schedule finalized, the next floor leader election is likely to become a two-horse race between four-term lawmaker Kim Hak-yong, whose constituency is Anseong in Gyeonggi Province in the metropolitan area, and three-term lawmaker Yoon Jae-ok from the TK region (Daegu and North Gyeongsang).

Park Dae-chul, who was originally known to be preparing for the floor leader position, was nominated as the policy committee chair, and another potential candidate, Kim Tae-ho, announced his withdrawal, stating he would diligently fulfill his role as chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. Park’s constituency is Jinju in South Gyeongsang Province, and with party leader Kim Ki-hyun, who is from Ulsan, becoming party leader, there are concerns about regional balance if Park also becomes floor leader. Kim’s constituency is also in South Gyeongsang Province.

Park will be officially confirmed through the party meeting on the same day. In a phone interview with Asia Economy, Park expressed his determination, saying, "With the general election next year approaching, reform policies and livelihood policies have become more important than ever," and added, "I will devote my efforts to discovering policies that the people need." He emphasized, "The party, government, and the presidential office must work in an organic cooperative system to produce policies, and the party will take the lead and serve as a guide."

Despite the two-horse race, no candidate has yet emerged as the clear front-runner. Kim is known to have been steadily preparing for the floor leader election since entering the National Assembly through the by-election in June last year. Yoon served as the head of the election campaign headquarters during President Yoon Seok-yeol’s candidacy and is reported to have maintained a close relationship with the presidential office. Kim Hak-yong’s constituency is Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, while Yoon Jae-ok represents Dalseo-eul, Daegu.

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