Oh Se-hoon, the mayor of Seoul and a potential candidate for the presidency, and independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon gathered on August 25 to express their concerns about the leadership of Jang Dong-hyuk. Oh stated, "We need additive and multiplicative politics rather than subtractive and divisive politics," while Han criticized the party's drift towards factionalism.
The two attended the 10th Korea Future Innovation Forum seminar held at the National Assembly, which was led by lawmaker Kim Ki-hyun. The forum, centered around pro-Yoon (supporters of President Yoon Suk-yeol) lawmakers, featured a discussion with Hong Tae-hwa from the U.S. Institute of Foreign Policy Analysis on the topic of "America's Grand Strategy and Korea's Choices."
Kim expressed concerns regarding Jang's emphasis on a "party-centered organization," saying, "It seems to be too one-sided these days. We should consider shifting from an excessive party focus to a people-centered approach."
Han pointed out the dangers of Jang's factionalism, asserting that rebuilding conservatism is essential to check the Lee Jae-myung administration. He remarked, "Kim's call for a people-centered approach resonates deeply with me. We need to ensure that conservative politics is restored to effectively counter the Lee administration."
He added, "The party is regressing and heading towards factionalism. If we continue down this path, we will fail to fulfill our mission of checking the current Democratic Party government, which is going astray. It is very regrettable."
Oh advocated for a "conservative unification" to counter the Lee administration. After the seminar, he told reporters that Jang's proposal for direct elections of party committee chairs could be beneficial in a competitive system, but emphasized that there is a proper order and timing for such changes.
He stated, "Now is the time to focus the party's efforts on criticizing the Lee administration's wrongdoings and to gather energy for unification politics. We need leadership that promotes additive and multiplicative politics rather than subtractive and divisive politics."
Regarding the disciplinary actions against non-party-affiliated lawmakers by the party's ethics committee, he remarked, "Ethics committee politics is the lowest form of politics. I hope we can return to the fundamental role of the opposition party, which is to check the runaway government through dialogue and unification."
As the People Power Party faces internal strife over disciplinary actions against current lawmakers and a complete re-election of party committee chairs, the two potential conservative leaders have voiced their concerns about Jang Dong-hyuk's leadership. Previously, Oh had advocated for a "legislative-centered party," while Han criticized Jang's "disciplinary politics."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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