'Handonghun Running Mate' Park Jeonghun Announces Candidacy for Supreme Council Member

"Conservatives Will Collapse If They Fail to Protect the President"
"Party and Government Must Each Take a Step Back and Compromise"

Park Jeong-hoon, a member of the People Power Party, will run for the Supreme Council member election at the party convention to be held on the 23rd of next month. Along with lawmaker Jang Dong-hyeok, Park, a representative pro-Han faction member, will run as a running mate with former Emergency Response Committee Chairman Han Dong-hoon, who is running for party leader.

Handonghun, the Chief Election Strategy Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is campaigning in support of candidate Park Jeonghun on the 4th in Seokchon-dong, Songpa-gu, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On the 21st, Park posted an article titled "President's Watch" on his social media (SNS), stating, "I have been contemplating the direction of our politics more than anyone else," and added, "Now, I will fulfill the historic mission of innovating the beloved People Power Party into a winning party and playing a role in harmonizing the party and government." Park hinted that he will declare his candidacy at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 24th.

Park said, "Since receiving this watch from President Yoon Seok-yeol earlier this year, there has not been a single day I have not worn it," and "I tighten the strap before going to work, determined that if I fail to protect the president, conservatism will collapse, and if conservatism collapses, South Korea’s future will be lost." He added, "The president's watch is a symbolic device that unites the party and government. Since the launch of the Yoon administration, the precarious party-government relationship must be upgraded to a healthy tension," and argued, "Harmony does not happen automatically. It requires the wisdom of concession, with each side stepping back."

He said, "If the president and a strong next presidential candidate fall into a swamp of conflict, it will only create opportunities for Lee Jae-myung’s faction," and "We have learned this lesson well from the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye." Furthermore, he stated, "When Yongsan and the party respect each other, conflicts decrease, and the momentum of the Yoon administration’s governance can be revived," adding, "Only then can we prevent the forces that would ruin the country in three years from seizing power."

Former Chairman Han will also declare his candidacy at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 23rd.

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