People Power Party shows little renewal after election defeat

 

Kim Yong-tae, the People Power Party's former emergency committee chair, holds a farewell press conference at the National Assembly on June 30. [YONHAP]

 
Kim Yong-tae, former chair of the People Power Party’s emergency leadership committee, offered blunt criticism of his party as he stepped down on Monday. In his farewell press conference, Kim pointed to the party’s continued ties to former President Yoon Suk Yeol as a key reason it has failed to regain public trust.
 
“No matter how right the conservative opposition may sound, it cannot earn credibility from the people because it remains entangled in the legacy of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration,” Kim said. He added that the harshest comment he heard during his post-election outreach across the country was, “The PPP should be dismantled.”
 
Kim suggested that entrenched power structures within the party — widely seen as a reference to the pro-Yoon faction — have blocked meaningful reform. During his short tenure, he called for a clean break from the former president and his wife, including a demand for Yoon’s resignation from the party and a public apology over allegations surrounding Kim Keon Hee. Still, these efforts were unable to reverse the party’s slide amid a lopsided presidential race.
 

Related Article

• Apologizing for Kim Keon Hee's scandals, PPP interim chief pledges to vet presidential candidates' spouses

• Police seize materials in probe of former first lady Kim Jung-sook’s alleged misuse of funds

• Shadowy political broker Myung Tae-kyun continued to advise first lady after election, say prosecutors

• First lady Kim Keon-hee continues to make public appearances despite debate

 
Following the defeat, Kim proposed five major reform measures: invalidating the party’s stance against Yoon’s impeachment, auditing internal management of the primary process, holding a leadership convention in early September, incorporating both party and public opinion into key decisions and adopting a fully bottom-up candidate nomination system. However, none of these initiatives gained traction, largely due to resistance from pro-Yoon lawmakers.
 
More than a month after its electoral loss, the PPP has shown few signs of renewal. With floor leader Song Eon-seog — a Yoon ally — expected to serve concurrently as interim party leader until the August convention, many anticipate a continuation of the status quo. If the next party chair also emerges from the pro-Yoon camp, critics warn the PPP could further isolate itself as a “Galápagos party,” cut off from evolving political realities.
 
Public sentiment reflects this stagnation. A Gallup Korea poll released on June 27 showed PPP support at 23 percent — barely half the 43 percent backing the Democratic Party. Party leaders appear to believe that highlighting the Lee Jae Myung administration’s missteps will be enough to recover, but voters seem to want the PPP to reform itself first.
 
Unless the party takes seriously Kim’s call to dismantle entrenched privileges and restructure its leadership, it risks irrelevance. As public frustration grows, the PPP must recognize a hard truth: political species that fail to adapt do not survive.


Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.