Battle for Leadership in the Ruling Party: Who Will Take the 'Policy Committee Chair'... Korean Supporters Also Join In

Secretary-General Appointed as Ulsan Reelected Seo Beom-su
Korean Supporters Demand Resignation on Jeong Jeong-sik's SNS and People Power Party's Heem 게시판

Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, appointed a close ally as Secretary-General following the appointment of a close ally as Chief of Staff, and the potential replacement of current Policy Committee Chair Jeong Jeom-sik is expected to be a turning point in the early power struggle between the pro-Han and pro-Yoon factions. The Policy Committee Chair is a key position that can either support or restrain Han's moves, as it holds the majority among the nine members of the Supreme Council. Han's supporters have also rallied to call for Jeong's resignation.

On the morning of the 29th, at a Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly, Han said, "The Secretary-General I have in mind is someone flexible to change and willing to take the lead in difficult tasks, and I have found such a person," adding, "I am considering working with Representative Seo Beom-su." The party Secretary-General is a crucial role overseeing overall party operations including finance, personnel authority, and organization. Seo passed the civil service exam, joined the police, served as Chief of Ulsan Police Agency and President of the Police University, and entered the 21st National Assembly. He is the younger brother of Seo Byung-soo, a five-term lawmaker. During the 21st National Assembly, when he was a first-term lawmaker, he served as Chief of Staff under Representative Lee Jun-seok.

Following Han's appointment of Park Jeong-ha, a pro-Han faction member, as the party leader's Chief of Staff, attention has increased on the replacement of the Policy Committee Chair with Seo. If both the Policy Committee Chair and the nominated Supreme Council members are filled with pro-Han figures, the Supreme Council's composition would shift to five pro-Han and four pro-Yoon members. Currently, among the leadership, the pro-Han faction includes Han, Supreme Council member Jang Dong-hyuk, and youth Supreme Council member Jin Jong-o, totaling three, while the pro-Yoon faction includes floor leader Chu Kyung-ho, Chair Jeong, and Supreme Council members Kim Jae-won, Kim Min-jeon, and In Yo-han, totaling five.

Initially, after Han was elected party leader, it was expected that by having dinner with President Yoon Seok-yeol on the 24th and resolving conflicts, the pro-Yoon Chair Jeong would be retained to maintain a communication channel with Yongsan. However, even if a pro-Han figure is appointed as a nominated Supreme Council member, if Chair Jeong remains, the pro-Yoon faction would maintain five members, making it difficult for Han to gain the upper hand. The pro-Yoon faction insists that the one-year term of the Policy Committee Chair must be guaranteed, while the pro-Han faction argues that since the pro-Yoon leadership led by Kim Ki-hyun appointed Park Dae-chul as Policy Committee Chair in March last year, the same should apply now. A ruling party lawmaker said, "Although Chair Jeong was elected only two months ago, it is natural for a new leader to make new appointments."

Han's supporters have flooded Jeong's Facebook and blog with hundreds of comments urging voluntary resignation, leading Jeong to switch his accounts to private. On the People Power Party members' bulletin board, posts such as "Do not go against party and public sentiment" and "Do not burden the new leadership" have been posted. On Han's fan cafe 'With Hooni,' many posts demand Jeong's replacement. It is anticipated that these supporters will play a role in empowering Han, who is an out-of-parliament figure, in future political developments. However, at the Supreme Council meeting that day, Han only gave a general statement, saying, "(The appointment) has one standard. As I mentioned before, 'Serve the people first, then the party,'" adding, "The public and party sentiment shown in the last general election and party leadership election demanded change. We will carefully and calmly proceed while listening to many opinions to build a camp that faithfully serves the public sentiment for that change."

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