Jang Dong-hyeok Responsibility Controversy Spreads... People Power Party Faces Internal Conflict After Local Election Defeat

After the Democratic Party of Korea won a landslide victory in the June 3 local elections, calls for Jang Donghyuk to take responsibility are growing within the People Power Party. Inside the party, some criticize that the chairman’s campaign rallies coincided with defeats in key regions, while the proJang Donghyuk faction points to regions where the party performed well and sees a low likelihood of his resignation. According to the article, Chairman Jang held 51 onsite campaign rallies during the election period, with a particular focus on the Chungcheong region and the Seoul metropolitan area. However, the People Power Party lost all of the South Chungcheong and North Chungcheong provincial governor races, as well as the Daejeon and Sejong mayoral races, and analysts have suggested that the results were also poor in several district head elections in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon. Conversely, in the South Gyeongsang provincial governor race, where Chairman Jang did not campaign, the People Power Party won, and in Seoul, Mayor Oh Sehoon ran his campaign separately from Chairman Jang and succeeded in winning a second term. Within the party, debate continues over how to assign responsibility to the leadership for these results.