The People Power Party will elect its next floor leader on Tuesday, after floor leader Song Eon-seog resigned Friday, 10 days before his term was set to end. The election, held during the party's recovery phase following its defeat in the local elections, is expected to become a watershed moment for the future reshaping of power within the party.
Kwak Kyu-taek, the People Power Party's chief floor spokesperson, said the decision was made at a meeting of the election management committee that day. The election notice and candidate registration will take place on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
So far, lawmakers Kim Do-eup (Busan Gangseo), Chung Jum-sik (South Gyeongsang Tongyeong-Goseong), and Sung Il-jong (South Chungcheong Seosan-Taean) have officially declared their candidacy for the floor leader election, forming a three-way race.
Four-term lawmaker Kim served as policy committee chairman in the early days of the Chang Dong-hyuk leadership and resigned late last year. He is regarded as having little factional coloring and maintaining smooth relations within the party. Three-term lawmaker Chung succeeded Kim as policy committee chairman under the Chang Dong-hyuk leadership before resigning to run for floor leader. Sung, also a three-term lawmaker, is known to have prepared for the election early by broadening contact with fellow lawmakers.
Observers say this floor leader election carries significance beyond simply selecting a parliamentary chief. The new leader must address the chaotic mood within the party following the local election defeat, and discussions are also likely to begin in earnest over the readmission of independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, who was expelled from the People Power Party earlier this year but returned to the National Assembly through the Busan Buk-A by-election.
In fact, the three candidates revealed subtle differences over Han's readmission that day. Kim said, "Lawmaker Han has been confirmed as an asset of the broad conservative camp standing in opposition to the Democratic Party and the Lee Jae-myung administration," adding, "For victory in the 2028 general election and the 2030 presidential election, the broad conservative camp, including lawmaker Han, must unite."
Chung took a cautious stance. "The matter of lawmaker Han's readmission requires sufficient gathering of opinions within the party," he said. "It is an issue that must be decided not only based on his own intentions but also through a process of sufficiently gathering the opinions of party lawmakers and asking the views of party members."
Sung said, "Lawmaker Han is a tremendous asset of the freedom-loving right," while also stating, "We must not rush. It is also an issue where public opinion must be carefully checked."
Meanwhile, there was also pushback within the party that the floor leader election schedule was being pushed too hastily. "Alternative and Future," a reform-minded group within the party led mainly by first- and second-term lawmakers, issued a statement saying, "There was no public discussion process for selecting the new floor leadership, and a notice was suddenly issued on Friday afternoon," asking, "What is the reason for trying to hold an election while blocking even the opportunity for dialogue and communication among lawmakers?"
The group continued, "Electing a floor leader this way inevitably invites suspicion that 'a particular faction colluded behind closed doors to elect a particular candidate,' and a floor leadership chosen in such a manner cannot achieve party unity and change." It pointed out, "The general meeting of lawmakers to select the new floor leadership must be given time so that candidates and lawmakers can sufficiently talk and communicate before making a choice."
It added, "We strongly demand of the party leadership," that "first, convene a general meeting of lawmakers to gather the collective will of lawmakers and finalize the floor leader election schedule."
