After Kim Min-soo, a member of the Supreme Council and part of the pro-party faction in the People Power Party, stated he would distance himself from the ‘Yoon Again’ forces, mixed reactions emerged both inside and outside the party on the 10th.
Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk also made comments seemingly in agreement with this stance. Far-right YouTuber Jeon Han-gil suggested that these statements from both individuals were intended for the local elections, sparking interest in their true intentions.
At a ‘Freedom Grand Alliance Debate’ jointly hosted by conservative YouTube channels including Koh Sung-kook TV, Jeon Han-gil News, Lee Young-poong TV, and Witness K on the previous day (9th), Kim responded to a question about his thoughts on ‘Yoon Again’ by saying that chanting ‘Yoon Again’ won’t lead to victory in the June 3 local elections.
This marks the first official statement from the leadership after Jeon requested an official position from Chairman Jang regarding the relationship with the ‘Yoon Again’ forces.
Kim’s statement is interpreted as expressing the need for a change in direction, such as expanding to moderate voters, to win the local elections. It’s seen as an attempt to explain the inevitable situation to hardcore supporters and seek their understanding.
Chairman Jang expressed a similar stance during an interview with the Munhwa Ilbo YouTube channel ‘Huh Min’s News Show’ on the same day.
He stated, “It’s not about whether ‘Jang Dong-hyuk can work with us,’ but rather that we should work with Jang Dong-hyuk, who leads the People Power Party and can solve these issues. Working with Jang Dong-hyuk, who leads the People Power Party, lending support, and asking him to solve these problems is currently the only way forward.”
He emphasized that winning this local election, the next general election, and ultimately regaining power is the only way to address all the concerns raised by those individuals (referring to conservative YouTubers and hardcore supporters).
The progressive stance of these two individuals drew mixed reactions from within and outside the party.
Shin Dong-wook, the party’s chief supreme council member, evaluated it positively in an interview with SBS Radio, saying, “It’s a meaningful statement. There’s a consensus that we need to make efforts to show that we’re an attractive party to ordinary moderates and non-party members, as the election is just four months away.”
On the other hand, Representative Kim Yong-tae, a young reformist who had proposed a re-confidence vote for Chairman Jang, criticized, “We’ve had to say ‘Yoon Again leadership’ until now, and the public believes so. It’s necessary for the leadership to admit their mistakes now, to say they used the ‘Yoon Again’ forces to maintain their party power. They can’t make up for their past actions by just making such statements before the election.”
Pro-Han Dong-hoon faction member Park Jung-ha harshly criticized in an MBC Radio interview, “It seems they’re trying to awkwardly navigate between protecting the current leadership, responding to the demands of the ‘Yoon Again’ forces, and internal party criticism. It reminds me of bian lian, the face-changing art in Chinese opera.”
While there was some expectation regarding the leadership’s progressive stance, skepticism about the ‘sincerity’ of their statements grew as Jeon revealed the content of a conversation he had with Kim over dinner.
Jeon shared on his YouTube channel the previous night that Chairman Jang and Supreme Council Member Kim said, “Winning the local elections is the top priority,” and that “they could strategically separate from ‘Yoon Again’ to achieve this.” He added that Kim said, “It’s really tough,” and asked for more patience, saying that Chairman Jang would eventually keep the promises made during the party convention.
In response, Supreme Council Member Yang Hyang-ja shared the related article on Facebook, expressing hope that it wasn’t true. She emphasized, “Now, the People Power Party should not even mention the ‘Yoon’ in ‘Yoon Again’, the ‘martial’ in martial law, or the ‘fraud’ in election fraud. It should be a complete severance, not a strategic separation. It should be an eternal breakup, not a fake divorce.”
Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform New Party, also pointed out on Facebook, “Publicly denying the relationship (with the Yoon Again forces) while secretly calling to ‘please wait’ is not strategic ambiguity, but strategic cowardice.”
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