Jang Dong-hyeok Holds First in PPP Leader Poll as Lee Jin-sook Surges

Mayor Oh Se-hoon followed with 23.8%, and Rep. Han Dong-hoon with 18.4%.

The figure drawing particular attention is Rep. Lee Jin-sook, who placed fourth with 15.2%. She had not been included in other polls, yet she surged with considerable support.

The result appears to reflect both expectations for new figures within the conservative camp and fatigue with existing politicians. Attention is focused on Lee Jin-sook's next moves.

Jang Dong-hyeok's support fell from the earlier 32–35% to 25%, about seven percentage points, though he kept the lead. Lee Jin-sook, at 15.2%, is closing in on Rep. Han Dong-hoon.

Political commentator Park Sang-gyu analyzed that part of Jang's support has shifted to Lee Jin-sook, reflecting demand within the conservative camp for new figures.

Attention is on how Lee Jin-sook's rise will affect the structure of the race for the next conservative leader.

He said she remained unbowed even after being refused attendance at cabinet meetings and after attempts to amend the law.

Unlike other female lawmakers, she showed a clear liberal-right value stance and a spirited confrontation with the Lee government, which he said formed a sense of shared views among conservative supporters and drove her high support.

Her approach is seen as showing a strong will to fight the opposition that existing politicians have not displayed, and it is credited with rallying her supporters.

He argued that if the chair of the special parliamentary committee on the investigation obstructs efforts to determine the truth about the election irregularities, he will inevitably be held accountable, and he characterized Yoon's remarks as undermining the PPP's efforts to investigate suspected election fraud.

Park Sang-gyu condemned Yoon Sang-hyeon's claims that 'vote-count manipulation does not affect vote shares,' 'a logical leap and incitement,' and 'mass hypnosis,' calling them statements that 'fail even elementary arithmetic.'

Within the PPP, some lawmakers also criticized Yoon, asking whether he is really the committee chair and saying he speaks like a Democratic Party spokesperson, with calls for his resignation. The criticism stems from the view that his remarks run against the party's position and defend the National Election Commission.

Statistics Korea reported that July's employment rose, but Park Sang-gyu noted this means short-term, part-time-style jobs held mainly by older workers increased.

The criticism is that the increase was limited to short-term jobs rather than quality improvements in regular employment. Park stressed that for the country to thrive, young people in their twenties fresh out of university need to secure regular jobs, and he warned that the current employment situation makes young people's futures uncertain.

It is read as meaning he no longer regards Mayor Oh Se-hoon as Seoul mayor, with speculation that he may have considerable information on the matter.

Mayor Oh was already sentenced to a 10 million won fine at first instance, and legal circles expect the ruling is unlikely to be overturned on appeal. Against this backdrop, Kim's announcement is interpreted as showing confidence that Oh will step down.

Kim's move suggests a by-election is increasingly likely, and behind-the-scenes competition within the Democratic Party for the Seoul mayor seat is expected to intensify.

If Oh's appellate ruling is finalized and he loses the mayoralty, the by-election will become a major focus of politics.

Commentator Park Sang-gyu argued that the party must clearly say the defeat was Lee Jae-myung's responsibility, not Jeong's.

He criticized the logic that victories are credited to Lee and defeats blamed on Jeong as unsound, and interpreted that Kim Min-seok cannot say it was Lee's fault because he is Lee's close aide.

With more than three years still remaining, Lee's repeated references to the final stretch are unusual, and this is seen as revealing his political anxiety.

He explained that with votes from the Gwangju and Jeolla regions being crucial, launching large-scale pledges carries political calculation.

The plan is seen as primarily aimed at the party leadership race, but secondarily as groundwork for the 2028 general election and the 2029 presidential election. The view is that Lee is pursuing a long-term political roadmap by courting the Honam region.

By using the economic issue of attracting a chip plant to win over local sentiment and strengthen his political standing, his intent is read as clear. However, skepticism remains about whether such pledges can actually be realized.

Ultimately, the Honam semiconductor plant push can be interpreted as part of a complex strategy serving Lee's personal political goals and the Democratic Party's expansion.

This marks a change from his earlier position, apparently in response to public backlash.

However, because he did not clearly specify which parts would be changed or how, critics called it a 'patch-up fix.' Such an unclear stance could erode trust in government policy.

At the time, Lee argued that crushing real estate speculation and normalizing the market was easier than clearing valleys.

Commentator Park Sang-gyu criticized the government for proceeding on the perception that real estate, which is far more difficult, intricate, and complex than valley clearing, was easier, arguing that this is why current real estate problems arose.

Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs Kwon Ho's use of the term 'Inmin' has drawn controversy. Commentator Park Sang-gyu noted that 'Inmin' was a fearsome term used as shorthand for massacres and plunder of civilians during the Korean War.

He explained that elders during the war said 'the Inmin-era chaos was no chaos at all,' showing the word evokes fear and pain for the public. He criticized it as inappropriate for the veterans minister to adopt such terminology.

He said the Lee Jae-myung government made so many blunders that writing the lyrics came automatically.

He said Hwang's remarks revealed the leftist 'true face' and belittled the younger generation, so he wrote the lyrics in 15 minutes and completed the composition with AI. He added that even the AI seemed angered by Hwang's 'Happers' remark and made good music.

He said Yoon even drew out answers the NEC secretary-general had not given.

On Yoon's claim that the data was entered not by NEC staff but by district office officials, Ju stressed that whoever entered it, final verification and announcement responsibility lies with the NEC. He said shifting the NEC's responsibility onto district officials is unacceptable to the public.

Ju said he raised his voice in protest against a fellow party lawmaker in committee for the first time, citing the problem with Yoon's conduct. He declared that if Yoon was defending the NEC's excuses, it was deeply wrong.

Ju Jin-woo said the move to relocate ballot boxes from Olympic Park to another site has a concrete purpose. He analyzed that the NEC simplistically assumes people will stop gathering to guard the boxes once they are moved.

This is criticized as undermining transparency in the voting process and as an intent to evade public oversight. Changing where ballot boxes are stored can amplify doubts about the fairness of the election.

Ju warned that such moves could deepen public distrust and fuel suspicions of election fraud, arguing that transparent measures are needed so public doubts can be resolved, since ballot storage is a key factor in election credibility.

Ultimately, the ballot-box relocation controversy is seen as reflecting the NEC's complacent attitude and an intent to block public scrutiny, fanning fairness disputes.

But Ju Jin-woo said that actual checks revealed the datasets all differ and their integrity has been broken.

This means the NEC's explanation is inaccurate and the possibility of data manipulation cannot be ruled out. The breach of data integrity raises serious doubts about election fairness and reliability.

He predicted the collapse in approval ratings caused by it has not fully stopped and will keep falling.

The proposal is analyzed as having angered young people and hurting Lee's approval ratings. Defection of young voters could also seriously damage future elections.

As a doctor and someone who had run elections ten times, he said he had believed election fraud could not exist in South Korea.

But he declared that the vote-rate manipulation revealed this time, namely computer manipulation, is 'clear election fraud.' Kim stressed that such computer manipulation affects who wins and loses, and retracted his earlier position to acknowledge the possibility of election fraud.

He expressed serious concern that the conventional belief that fraud is impossible as long as the NEC exists has been shattered. His change of position is expected to accelerate social debate over election-fraud suspicions.

He said that in Songpa, people could not vote because ballots were missing, and if that was systematic and intentional, it is clear election fraud rather than irregularity. He cited a case in Chungcheongbuk-do where 1,290 people went home without voting due to missing voter rolls, arguing that even one vote's irregularity counts as fraud if intentional.

He argued that the NEC uses the word 'irregularity' to dilute the seriousness of fraud, insisting intentional mistakes must also be treated as misconduct.

He said he has doubts about how early voting was manipulated, what target figures were set, and how ballots were mixed. This raises the possibility of organized misconduct in the early-voting process.

He combined the two into 'hyeongbu' and stressed they are fundamental problems pulling out the pillars of the nation.

Kim analyzed that stock and real estate issues, commonly cited as causes of the approval slump ('jubu'), are merely dragging down current ratings and are secondary compared with the 'hyeongbu' problems.

This is read as an argument that the government and politicians should prioritize resolving problems that shake the foundations of the state, such as election fairness and judicial justice, rather than focusing only on surface economic issues.

The analysis suggests that rather than seeking only a short-term rebound in approval, the approach should aim at restoring trust in state systems over the long term.

Kim Young-hwan declared that people need not pay attention to the Democratic Party leadership race. He criticized the race for not discussing the suffering and despair people are experiencing at all, and said it is only raising the banner for completing the reform of the criminal procedure law (the 'prosecution-abolition' push).

Kim argued that the race effectively amounts to a confidence vote on whether to fill out Lee Jae-myung's term as party leader. This is read as criticism that the leadership contest focuses on the party leader's personal political survival rather than livelihood issues.

Issues directly tied to people's lives are pushed aside, and the discussion is said to be consumed only by Lee's legal risks. This raises concerns that the Democratic Party will struggle to earn public trust.

Kim ultimately leveled a sharp criticism that the Democratic Party race has become a tool for one person's political aims rather than politics for the people.

He assessed that after taking office, Roh moved toward right-leaning, conservative, and US-alliance positions and left a record of achievements. Although he lost his core constituency, he judged that Roh's politics had accomplishments because of that shift.

Moon Jae-in's supporters, by contrast, thought Roh became unhappy because he abandoned his core base, and Kim Eo-jun and others pointed out that the camp had fully tilted toward progressive activist circles. Kim declared that the Moon administration left no real achievements because of this divide.

He strongly argued that if Kim Min-seok becomes leader, he and Lee Jae-myung would be tied together like a three-legged race and 'die drowning in the sea of public sentiment,' and judged that it would be impossible for Kim to save Lee or survive together with him.

By contrast, he predicted that if Jeong Chung-rae becomes leader, the party will look for a path where the Democratic Party survives and Lee dies. This is read as an analysis that under a Jeong leadership, the party might distance itself to some degree from Lee or separate from Lee's legal risks.

His remarks suggest that the leadership race result will decisively shape Lee's political fate and the party's future course. Given that Kim Min-seok is a strong supporter of Lee, his victory would likely strengthen Lee's line further.

The Democratic Party leadership race is thus seen as a turning point that will determine the party's identity and future, beyond a simple intra-party power struggle.

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