After Saying 'Breakup,' Suddenly 'Abolishing Nomination Rights'... What Is Jeon Gwang-hoon's True Intention?

'Jeon Gwang-hoon Influence' 10,000 to 300,000 Party Members
"Party Member System Maintenance and Dual Party Membership Investigation Needed"

Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon, who had declared his intention to sever ties with the People Power Party, has drawn attention as he demands the abolition of the party nomination rights. The card Pastor Jeon has put forward in exchange for abolishing the nomination rights is a 'postponement of the new party formation.' Analysts interpret this as him pressuring the People Power Party based on his confidence that if he forms a new party, the conservative Christian vote for the People Power Party will decline.

Pastor Jeon is the founder of the Christian political party, the Liberty Unification Party. According to the Central Election Commission's party registration status on the 17th, the representative of the Liberty Unification Party is listed as Ko Young-il, but in political circles, Pastor Jeon is regarded as the de facto leader of the Liberty Unification Party. The reason the People Power Party says to Pastor Jeon, "Our party's nomination rights are not something for a third party to meddle with," is because he is not a member of the People Power Party.

Initially, Pastor Jeon had announced a press conference to declare a 'breakup' with the People Power Party. However, on the 17th, he suddenly changed his stance and declared the start of a membership drive for the People Power Party along with these demands.

In the press release distributed that day, Pastor Jeon stated, "I intend to propose a way to protect liberal democracy in crisis," and claimed, "A nationwide membership drive for the People Power Party, abolition of nomination rights, and member-centered candidate primaries are the way."

Underlying this is apparently his intention to expand his political influence base. Pastor Jeon founded a Christian political party in 2004 and has challenged several general elections but has repeatedly failed to enter the National Assembly. Since the exact number of People Power Party members who follow Pastor Jeon is unclear, and not all attendees at the Gwanghwamun rallies can be considered his pure supporters, some view his influence as limited.

Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church is holding a press conference at Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul on the 17th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, in political circles, there is also a view that his influence and organizational mobilization power cannot be ignored. Pastor Jeon has been increasing the number of party members under his influence through the People Power Party membership drive.

Estimates of the number of party members influenced by Pastor Jeon vary. Cheon Ha-ram, the People Power Party Jeonnam Suncheon Gap district committee chairman, estimated that at least 10,000 members are influenced by Pastor Jeon, while Eom Kyung-young, director of the Era Spirit Research Institute, analyzed that the number could reach up to 300,000. The People Power Party currently has over 800,000 responsible members. If Eom's analysis is correct, Pastor Jeon could sway more than one-third of the party members.

Even if Pastor Jeon's actual influence is less than expected, concerns remain that he will exert a certain level of influence over nominations. Since there is no screening system to check residence areas or dual party memberships when joining the party, if Pastor Jeon's followers concentrate in specific constituencies, they could sway nominations in some regions.

In response to these concerns, People Power Party lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung has called for a full investigation of dual party memberships. The aim is to identify those who have submitted membership applications to the People Power Party while still registered with the Liberty Unification Party led by Pastor Jeon. Article 42 of the Political Parties Act prohibits dual party memberships.

However, the likelihood of the People Power Party actually starting a membership list comparison is low. Even if the People Power Party attempts to compare membership lists, it lacks investigative authority and would need the cooperation of the Liberty Unification Party to proceed. Kim Byung-min, a senior member of the People Power Party, said on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' that "We want to know (about dual memberships), but since the other party doesn't provide us with information, how can we know if someone has dual memberships?" and added, "I hope Representative Ha would propose a bill regarding dual memberships."

The People Power Party continues to distance itself from Pastor Jeon. On the afternoon of the same day, party leader Kim Ki-hyun met with reporters at the National Assembly and described Pastor Jeon's press conference as "utterly absurd," saying, "I don't know what he thinks our party is, but it's ridiculous."

Kim said, "Our party will handle nominations on its own," and warned, "It is not a matter for a third party to meddle in. The person who is the representative of another party should stop interfering in our party's affairs and telling us what to do."

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