People Power Party to Elect New Floor Leader on June 9 Amid Controversy

The People Power Party will elect its next floor leader on June 9, just four days after the abrupt resignation of Song Eon-seok on June 5. Some members have expressed strong opposition, suggesting that the expedited election schedule is designed to favor a specific candidate.

According to Yonhap News on June 6, the party announced that candidate registration will be open until June 7, with voting scheduled for 10 a.m. on June 9.

So far, three candidates have declared their intentions to run: four-term lawmaker Kim Do-eup, and three-term lawmakers Jeong Jeom-sik and Seong Il-jong. Among them, Kim and Seong have argued for delaying the election schedule.

Seong stated on social media on June 5, "Most lawmakers, who are the voters in this election, heard about this schedule for the first time this afternoon. They do not know who set this tight schedule or why. I hope the election can be postponed to next Thursday or Friday."

The reform-oriented group 'Alternatives and Future,' primarily composed of first- and second-term lawmakers, also issued a statement the day before, criticizing the process by saying, "Electing a floor leader in this manner raises suspicions that specific factions colluded in secret to select a particular candidate."

Kim Jong-hyuk, a former Supreme Council member aligned with the pro-Yoon faction, claimed, "The reason for Song Eon-seok's resignation is obvious. With Han Dong-hoon emerging, the People Power Party lawmakers are anxious, so they want to quickly hold the floor leader election to maintain the pro-Yoon leadership."

In relation to this, Song Eon-seok reportedly wrote in a group chat that there are urgent issues such as a shortage of ballots and the allocation of standing committee positions in the upcoming negotiations for the second half of the year, emphasizing the need for a new floor leader to be elected as soon as possible, according to chief spokesperson Park Seong-hoon.

Song is expected to meet with lawmakers Kim, Jeong, and Seong on June 7, the candidate registration deadline, to explain his reasoning. The party leadership has stated that since the election schedule has already been confirmed by the party's election management committee, it will proceed as planned.

Park told reporters on the same day, "Since the announcement from the election management committee was made today, any changes or postponements would require a new decision from the committee, and the possibility of postponement has not been discussed."