South Korea's main opposition People's Power Party is shaken by a growing leadership struggle after the local election results. Former lawmaker Yang Hyang-ja, a member of the party's supreme council, stated that the party leadership should take responsibility and resign.
At the supreme council meeting held on Monday, Yang expressed that the public and party supporters expect the leadership to step down collectively after the elections. She criticized the current leadership for failing to present a clear direction and understanding for the country from the party and its conservative line.
Recalling the harsh words used against the party chairman and the supreme council, Yang argued that the leadership should step aside as soon as possible. According to her, this move is necessary for new cadres to correct and advance the party.
Yang Hyang-ja's statement drew attention as she became the second supreme council member within the party to call for a collective leadership change. Previously, lawmaker Woo Jae-jun also demanded a leadership election within the party.
Party chairman Jang Dong-hyeok responded sharply to Yang's remarks. Referring to a public opinion poll announced on Monday, Jang said these criticisms also targeted the voters supporting the party.
According to the Realmeter survey, the People's Power Party's support rate rose to 44.3%. This is the highest level seen since President Lee Jae Myung took office in June 2025 and surpassed the ruling Democratic Party's support for the first time in 10 months.
Jang also noted that he has been under constant criticism since assuming the party chairmanship and claimed that the attacks against him are baseless.
Those close to Jang also began to criticize Yang. Supreme council member Cho Kwang-han targeted a faction within the party by saying, "In honest politics, Korean is spoken; in bad politics, a foreign language that hides true intentions is used."
Cho alleged that those demanding the leadership's resignation are doing so for personal gain and stated that politicians should not act with illogical, parrot-like repeated phrases.
Thus, the debate sparked by the local elections has made the tension between the party leadership and the faction seeking change more visible. How this crisis will affect the internal balance of the party in the short term remains uncertain.
