People Power Party Hits Record-Low Support as Leadership Feud Deepens

South Korea’s People Power Party is facing a deepening crisis as its support falls to the lowest level since it adopted its current name in 2020, while internal calls for accountability and resignation spill into the open. With local elections approaching, the main opposition party is focused less on winning back voters than on internal power struggles, raising broader questions about its credibility.
 
According to results released on the 23rd by the National Barometer Survey (NBS), the People Power Party’s support stood at 15%, its lowest since September 2020. The Democratic Party was at 48%, widening the gap to more than threefold. Even in the conservative stronghold of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, the People Power Party polled 25%, trailing the Democratic Party’s 34%, the survey found.
 
Critics say the party’s response has compounded the problem. Rather than focusing on stabilizing the situation, the leadership has appeared to devote more energy to internal discipline and factional clashes. Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok warned that he would “immediately replace” any candidate who engaged in “acts that harm the party.” But some inside and outside the party criticized the remark as likely to inflame factional conflict. Some lawmakers have publicly called for him to step back or resign.
 
The party’s slump did not emerge overnight, the article said, pointing to accumulated problems including a lack of policy direction, mixed messaging, distrust in leadership and faction-driven decision-making. While voters face issues such as economic uncertainty, security variables and regional concerns, the party’s headlines have centered on leadership disputes and internal confrontation.
 
The article argued that a weakened conservative party is not desirable for South Korea’s broader political system, saying democracy functions best when there is a competitive alternative force. Unchecked power can become arrogant, it said, while a feeble opposition can deepen public distrust in politics.
 
The article called for renewal rather than blame. It said the leadership should clarify responsibility, including decisions about whether to stay in office. It also urged the party to halt factional loyalty contests and rebuild transparent standards for nominations and party management. It said the party should shift from opposing for opposition’s sake to presenting policy alternatives, competing with the government on issues such as prices, housing, industrial competitiveness and balanced regional development.
 
The article said even conservative supporters understand that blind unity will not revive the party, and that wavering support in its political base is a warning, not a temporary fluctuation. If the party continues to blame rivals and fuel internal hostility, it said, the decline will only accelerate.
 
Politics receives warnings in numbers and is judged at the ballot box, the article said. The 15% figure may not be the end, it added, but could be the party’s last chance. If the People Power Party fails to read the signal, the crisis could expand beyond one leader to become a question of the party’s survival. Voters, it said, are waiting for an opposition that works, not one that fights.