People Power Party Surpasses Democratic Party in Approval Ratings

According to a public opinion poll conducted by PenNmike from August 23 to 24, targeting 1,000 adults aged 18 and over nationwide, the People Power Party's approval rating recorded 41.7%, surpassing the Democratic Party of Korea's 38.8%. The host stated, “It’s 41.7% for PPP and 38.8% for the DPK.” Particularly among those aged 20 and under, the People Power Party recorded 60.9% and the Democratic Party recorded 19.4%, showing a significant gap.

The People Power Party's Jang Dong-hyuk leadership is expected to push for party reform measures, including a direct election system for party members. This is an attempt to transfer the authority to elect local chapter chairpersons to party members, thereby relinquishing the power of vested interests within the party and strengthening member-centered operations. The host emphasized, “It appears they will move towards party reform, including a direct election system for members.”

Panelist Lee Jae-neung emphasized that the direct election system is a measure to return power to party members, who are the sovereign owners of the party. Just as shareholders are involved in a company's operations, party members should also be the main agents of party operations. He stated, “Let party members choose. It’s about strengthening the power of party members,” explaining the intention to break the practice where vested interests controlled the selection of local chapter chairpersons and to expand the support base among youth and party members.

Panelist Lee Jae-neung analyzed that the ideological flexibility of young people has recently become prominent. Unlike the industrialization and democratization generations of the past, today's youth have weak ideological biases and tend to react and judge sensitively on an issue-by-issue basis. He explained, “Unlike previous generations, today’s youth have very weak ideological biases. They make judgments on an issue-by-issue basis and react sensitively to each issue.” This can also be seen as an expression of young people's resistance to the government and ruling party's excesses.

Panelist Lee Jae-neung criticized the existing practice where party leaders would replace local chapter chairpersons through party audits, create 'accident chapters,' and then appoint people they favored. He stated, “They open a party audit. And they give very low scores. They cut off the current local chapter. And they make it an accident chapter, and then they appoint someone they want as the local chapter chairperson in that area. Chairman Jang Dong-hyuk says he won't do that.” He explained that Chairman Jang Dong-hyuk shows a strong will to abolish such private nomination practices. He also positively evaluated the supreme council members' initiative to limit their own candidacies for local chapter chairpersons, demonstrating a willingness to relinquish vested interests.

Panelist Park Sung-jin pointed out that youth's backlash against the Democratic Party's youth policies contributed to the People Power Party's golden cross. He argued that unrealistic policy proposals for young people, such as removing desks in gosiwon (cram school accommodation), are unlikely to gain empathy. He said, “Of course, young people cannot support it,” analyzing that this accelerated the defection of DPK supporters. In contrast, the direct election system was evaluated as the right direction towards a member-centered party.

Panelist Lee Jae-neung criticized the harms of 'parachute nominations' during local elections, where outsiders with no local ties suddenly come down and preempt local chapter chairperson positions. He stated, “Suddenly, there's no one in the local area, and someone comes down from Seoul. They claim it's their hometown, stay for a month or two, three months, and then become a local chapter chairperson and get elected. Then the remaining party members who have worked hard for years, campaigning and serving the community by paying party dues, wonder why they have to elect a 'parachute' who suddenly came down from Seoul.” He explained the sense of deprivation felt by long-serving local party members. He emphasized that this further strengthens the justification for introducing the direct election system.

Panelist Kim Jun-soo emphasized the need for a direct election system, citing the case of National Assembly member Jeon Eun-soo. He said, “Actually, my region is Asan. Jeon Eun-soo would not have become a National Assembly member if there had been a direct election system. Lee Jae-myung just parachuted her in, and she immediately became a National Assembly member.” This demonstrates the problem of certain individuals being nominated in the absence of a direct election system for party members. Panelist Kim Jun-soo criticized some veteran lawmakers for opposing Chairman Jang Dong-hyuk's stated intention to listen to party members' opinions and help them exercise their rights, finding it incomprehensible.

Panelist Park Sung-jin emphasized that a reward system is crucial for organizational growth. “An organization needs a reward system. How much do I work for this local chapter, for our party, in this region?” he argued, asserting that fair rewards based on activity level and performance should be provided. He stated that appointments made by higher authorities can demoralize party members who have dedicated themselves to the region, ultimately reducing the number of people willing to work for the party. He cited the collapse of the youth committee system and evaluated Chairman Jang Dong-hyuk's push for a direct election system as a move to improve the party's constitution through an upward nomination system.

Panelist Lee Jae-neung delivered a sharp rebuke to incumbent lawmakers who oppose the direct election system. He countered, “If they did well, they should be confident, right? Shouldn't they say, 'Oh, thank you, welcome, let's do a direct election system'?” He reported that incumbent PPP local chapter chairpersons with strong regional bases are, in fact, welcoming the direct election system. They are confident they will be chosen by local party members and have no risk of parachute nominations, so they have no choice but to welcome it. Panelist Lee Jae-neung stated, “Local chapter chairpersons who messed up their communities must be trembling with anxiety,” emphasizing the principle that party members are the owners of the party.

Panelist Park Sung-jin cited the nomination conflict in the Songpa region to emphasize the need for a direct election system. He explained, “There are talks that public sentiment in Songpa is very bad. In the local chapter where Chairman Lee Sang-gyu was, all the people who had been active there were excluded from nominations, and new people suddenly came in, to the point where the local chapter itself almost disintegrated, as I understand it.” He argued that a member-centered nomination system is necessary to prevent situations where excluding existing activists and bringing in new figures leads to internal disintegration.

Panelist Lee Jae-neung stressed the importance of uniting moderates and core supporters to maintain power. He warned, “A regime loses its momentum when moderates leave, and collapses when its core supporters leave. Currently, core supporters are leaving,” indicating that the defection of core supporters can pose a fatal risk to the regime.

Panelist Lee Jae-neung urged the conservative camp to reorganize its youth talent development system. He stated, “Good singers are not made right before their debut. They are trained for a long time as trainees, gain experience, build skills, and only when they are proven can they debut as good singers. Our People Power Party has largely lost that function.” He emphasized that politicians, too, must go through a training process similar to trainees. He mentioned the effect of programs like 'Nanum Bosuda' (Sharing Conservatism) in discovering and highlighting young talent, stressing the importance of restoring talent development functions.

Panelist Park Sung-jin argued that now is the most crucial time for the conservative camp to absorb voters who have defected from the Democratic Party's support base. He said, “I think now is the most important time. Because I believe our conservative camp must re-absorb those who have left the Lee Jae-myung administration and the Democratic Party regime.” He also emphasized that what young people want is not grand policies but an ordinary life, such as marriage, owning a home, and a good job, and pointed out that the current government is not adequately addressing these needs.

Panelist Kim Jun-soo analyzed that presidential candidates for conservative governments are often ironically created through attacks from progressive governments. He stated, “Actually, progressive governments pretty much create the presidential candidates for conservative governments themselves. Candidate Park Geun-hye benefited somewhat from candidate Lee Jung-hee, and President Yoon Suk-yeol received much help from Choo Mi-ae, who is called the 'mother of conservatism. If Democratic Party members want to create presidential candidate Lee Jin-sook, whom they dislike so much, please continue to attack her in the same way.” He cited the examples of Presidents Park Geun-hye and Yoon Suk-yeol. He likened expanding influence without internal cohesion to building a structure without a framework, emphasizing, “Expanding influence is something that can be done when the interior is solid. Shouting for external expansion when the interior is not cohesive is like continuously building a structure without a framework.” Therefore, he urged that true external expansion is possible only when the party is strongly united around Chairman Jang Dong-hyuk.