With Jang Pushing Direct Elections for Party Council Chairs, Han and Oh Call for Conservative Innovation and Unity

Han Donghoon and Oh Se-hoon Attend Future Innovation Forum
Kim Gi-hyeon: "Axis Should Shift from Party Members to the People"

Han Donghoon, an independent lawmaker, and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon both emphasized "conservative innovation" and "unity." This comes as the People Power Party is experiencing internal strife over the “party member-centered party” model, including the direct election system for regional chapter heads (known as party council chairpersons), led by party leadership figures such as party leader Jang Donghyuk.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is attending a seminar hosted by the Korea Future Innovation Forum held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 24th, delivering a lecture on the topic of "Diagnosis of the June 3 Local Elections and Future Tasks - Restoration of Conservative Values and the Future." 2026.6.24 Photo by Kim Hyunmin

The Korea Future Innovation Forum held a lecture on the topic "The United States’ Grand Strategy and Korea’s Choice" at 10 a.m. on August 25 at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul. The forum, chaired by Assemblyman Kim Gi-hyeon, is mainly comprised of pro-Yoon Suk-yeol members. Both Assemblyman Han and Mayor Oh attended the event that day.

Seemingly aware of the party leadership's recent moves to strengthen a member-centered model, Assemblyman Kim remarked, "These days, things seem too one-sided," and added, "I think it’s time to shift the axis from being party member-centered to being people-centered." Assemblyman Han, referring to the recent U.S. policy toward North Korea, stated, "Diplomacy, too, needs to be set right by having conservative politics rebuilt so that it can properly keep the Lee Jae-myung administration in check," and added, "Assemblyman Kim’s point about moving toward a people-centered approach resonates with me."

Mayor Oh also commented to reporters regarding related questions, "With the Lee Jae-myung administration rapidly losing public support as it runs wild on real estate issues, now is the time to unite and gather strength to criticize the administration," adding, "This is a moment when we need politics of addition and multiplication, rather than subtraction and division."

Mayor Oh and Assemblyman Han are positioning themselves in opposition to leader Jang. Mayor Oh has recently expanded his contacts, not just with floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik, but also with former lawmaker Yoo Seungmin and lawmakers Kwon Young-se and Yoon Sang-hyun. Assemblyman Han has continued to criticize recent actions by the People Power Party leadership as a “monopolization of the party.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.