Without Change in Yoon-Ruling Party Relations, Launching the People Power Party Innovation Committee Is Futile

Seoul Gangseo-gu Mayor By-election Lost by Double Digits
'Sudogwon Crisis Theory' Rapidly Emerges... Innovation Committee Mentioned
Personnel Shake-up Inevitable for Current Leadership Close to Yoon

After suffering a shocking defeat in the Seoul Gangseo District Mayor by-election on the 11th, the People Power Party (PPP) has been struggling to come up with countermeasures. With only six months left until next year's general election, there is a desperate demand both inside and outside the party for change. The core issue is the need to redefine the relationship between President Yoon Seok-yeol and the ruling party.

The PPP lost the by-election by a margin of 17.15 percentage points. Although all the local National Assembly members in this area belong to the Democratic Party of Korea and it is traditionally a stronghold for them, this cannot be used as an excuse. In the 2021 presidential election, the PPP lost here by 2.2 percentage points, and in the 2022 local elections, the PPP won by 2.6 percentage points. Moreover, the party leadership visited Gangseo-gu daily, and PPP lawmakers canvassed down to the neighborhood level, putting in maximum effort. A double-digit defeat, not even a single-digit one, is inevitably a shock for the ruling party.

Shocking Defeat

There is no need to look far for the cause of the defeat. The PPP's missteps began when it re-nominated the person responsible for causing the by-election. Initially, the PPP leadership intended not to field a candidate in this by-election. Within the party, the prevailing opinion was that, according to party regulations, there should be no nomination for the Gangseo District Mayor by-election, and there was a regulatory basis for this. Article 39, Paragraph 3 of the PPP's party regulations on the recommendation of local election candidates states, "If a by-election or re-election occurs due to a violation of the Public Official Election Act by an elected official belonging to the party, the Central Party's Nomination Management Committee may, after resolution by the Supreme Council, choose not to recommend a candidate for the relevant electoral district."

Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, is arriving at the party leader's office in the National Assembly on the 13th. On the same day, Kim canceled the scheduled emergency Supreme Council meeting and held individual meetings with the Supreme Council members. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

However, the atmosphere changed after President Yoon Seok-yeol included former Gangseo District Mayor Kim Tae-woo in the Liberation Day special pardon. Although Kim lost his mayoral position only three months earlier due to the Supreme Court's final ruling confirming a suspended prison sentence for leaking official secrets, President Yoon restored Kim's eligibility to run for office. The internal party opinion that no candidate should be fielded due to responsibility for the by-election shifted to the view that since the disqualification was not due to corruption or violation of the Public Official Election Act, nomination was possible.

On August 27, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Chung Woo-taek stated on his SNS, "This by-election is a re-election caused by judicial violence that nullified public interest whistleblowing through legal reasoning, blocking the path to social justice," and argued, "Therefore, it is difficult to consider it a no-nomination case under party rules." Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo also said on August 25, "I understand the intention not to nominate a candidate for Gangseo District Mayor to avoid such a variable (the October 2011 Seoul mayoral by-election) ahead of the general election, but that is a cowardly act," and added, "Because the case was a public interest disclosure that could have been given a suspended sentence, but was instead given a probationary sentence, the president immediately pardoned him because it was unfair."

Ultimately, the PPP reversed its position and decided to field a candidate for Gangseo District Mayor. Although the process involved a primary through public opinion polls, it was essentially a 'push for Kim Tae-woo.' As a result, the PPP confirmed the cold public sentiment in the metropolitan area through this by-election. The PPP leadership, which had previously fired a direct shot at lawmakers who mentioned the 'metropolitan crisis theory' by saying, "Passengers who make holes in a perfectly good ship cannot board" (Secretary-General Lee Cheol-gyu, August 16), became the target of concentrated criticism this time.

The Ruling Party's Misstep and Its Causes

As the ruling party faces next year's general election, there was little incentive to make risky choices. Nevertheless, behind these reckless moves was the issue of the relationship between President Yoon and the ruling party.

The current PPP leadership is labeled as the 'Yoon-sim (President Yoon's intention)' leadership, having been elected entirely through party member votes (100%). Furthermore, all appointed leaders are staunchly pro-Yoon. Even during this by-election process, the relationship between President Yoon and the ruling party was effectively a one-way vertical hierarchy. The consensus inside and outside the party is that the ruling party is unable to perform its proper role because it is constantly watching the president's mood.

Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min said in a KBS radio interview on the 12th, "I do not intend to hold the Kim Ki-hyun leadership responsible for this election," adding, "Because they had no authority whatsoever." Yoo pointed out, "The party did not want to field that candidate, and in a way, this by-election could have gone without a nomination, but due to the will of the president and the presidential office, the party had no choice but to reluctantly field a candidate and only handled the election campaign behind the scenes."

How to Resolve It

Party leader Kim is holding a relay meeting with Supreme Council members on the 13th to devise a plan to manage the aftermath of this by-election defeat and plans to gather opinions through an emergency party members' meeting on the afternoon of the 15th. So far, the most likely scenario is the launch of an Innovation Committee. This is a strategy to overcome the metropolitan crisis theory.

However, launching an Innovation Committee without redefining the relationship between President Yoon and the ruling party is likely to be ineffective. The 'Choi Jae-hyung Innovation Committee' promoted by former leader Lee Jun-seok, who was considered a representative 'anti-Yoon' figure, is a case in point. Lee launched the Innovation Committee chaired by former Board of Audit and Inspection chief Choi right after the June 1 local elections, but coincidentally, a month later, Lee was suspended from party membership for six months by the party ethics committee for 'obstruction of evidence related to sexual bribery allegations and violation of the duty to maintain dignity.' Rumors of 'political retaliation' by President Yoon and pro-Yoon lawmakers were rampant. As Lee stepped down from the party leadership, the Innovation Committee lost momentum, which was inevitable. As seen in the cases of the Democratic Party's Innovation Committees led by Jang Kyung-tae and Kim Eun-kyung, for an Innovation Committee to function properly, it must be granted powers equivalent to those of an emergency committee; otherwise, it is practically impossible.

The key to overcoming this crisis lies with leader Kim. Public sentiment can change depending on the strength of the reform measures Kim proposes. Lawmaker Hong Moon-pyo recently said in a YTN radio interview, "It is unacceptable for us to have created a situation that could shake the entire country by escalating the importance of this election and then remain passive," and argued, "Those who intervened in and created this election must make a decisive decision."

Former lawmaker Yoo said, "If President Yoon thoroughly reflects on the fact that public sentiment differs from his thoughts, abandons the control and vertical party-government relationship between Yongsan and the ruling party, and allows the party to independently establish a completely new strategy from scratch to win the general election, there is a chance for victory."

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