[Hot Interview] Yeo Sang-gyu, Chair of the Ruling Party Special Committee, "Discussing the Separation of Party Leadership and Presidential Election Votes in Reflecting Delegate Sentiment"

People Power Party Forms Special Committee on Party Constitution and Rules Ahead of Leadership Election
Yeo Sang-gyu, Former Judiciary Committee Chair and Three-Term Lawmaker, Appointed as Chair
"People Power Party Has Issues That Must Be Resolved Regardless"

The Emergency Response Committee of the People Power Party has formed a Special Committee for Revising the Party Constitution and Rules ahead of the party convention to elect the next leadership. Following the usual conviction of Emergency Response Committee Chairman Hwang Woo-yeo, who has emphasized that "the party constitution and rules are issues akin to constitutional amendments," former lawmaker Yeo Sang-gyu, a three-term (18th, 19th, and 20th) legislator who served as the chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, was appointed as the committee chairman. Yeo had declared he would not run in the 21st general election, citing disillusionment with practical politics.

Yeosangyu, Special Committee Chair for the Revision of the Party Rules of the People Power Party. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

When the offer to chair this special committee came, he had many reservations but could not refuse due to his past connection as Chief of Staff to Chairman Hwang.

With Chairman Hwang effectively setting the party convention date for late July during the Emergency Response Committee meeting, the special committee to revise the convention rules is expected to begin full-scale operations.

Did you readily accept the chairmanship?

(Laughs) Not readily. Since I served as Chief of Staff when Hwang Woo-yeo was the party leader, I could not refuse.

Do you see the party as being in crisis?

Isn't the entire political scene like that? The Democratic Party has its own problems, and the People Power Party also has many issues that need to be resolved.

What will the special committee address?

Key topics include what proportion of public opinion should be reflected, how the leadership system should be structured, and whether to separate party leadership from the presidential candidacy. If the party leadership candidates and the next presidential hopefuls communicate smoothly and reach consensus, it should be resolved easily.

When will the first meeting be held?

It is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. tomorrow at the party headquarters. It will be a brief introductory meeting to coordinate schedules due to limited time.

With limited time, how do you plan to operate?

It seems unlikely that there will be broad opinion gathering; the special committee for revising the party constitution and rules will discuss and decide matters among the members.

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