People Power Party Yongin Gap Primary Dispute: "Full Revote" vs. "Yang Must Take Responsibility"

Conflict within the People Power Party leadership continues over allegations of poor management of the primary for the chair of the party's organizational committee for the Gap district in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. Secretary-General Jung Hee-yong targeted Supreme Council member Yang Hyang-ja, who raised the issue, saying, "She must take responsibility for undermining the party's system and damaging the value of safeguarding people's right to vote."

Speaking to reporters after a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on the morning of the 15th, Jung said, "Officially announcing to the media that a telecommunications company's technical problem was the party's error, while exaggerating and amplifying it, constitutes conduct that undermines the party's system and disrupts its work."

Yonhap News Agency

On the 8th, the People Power Party held a runoff vote for the chair of its organizational committee for the Gap district in Yongin using an automated response system (ARS). Candidate Yoon Jaebok, who is close to party leader Jang Donghyeok, defeated Yang, a sitting Supreme Council member. However, 44 party members were unable to vote because of a problem with the telecommunications company.

The party then decided to hold the runoff again. At the Supreme Council meeting on the morning of the 15th, Yang said, "If we apply the principle of Olympic Park—the incident involving a shortage of ballots in the 9th Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections—to this situation, all primaries should be held again." The leadership members continued to clash, raising their voices.

In response to calls to restart the primary from scratch, Jung said, "The telecommunications company confirmed that there were no call-blocking issues or errors during the first-round ARS vote." He added, "We recommended a revote for the runoff, but the candidate's side said at the time, 'It would be better to open [announce] the results.'"

Jung also partially disclosed an agreement drawn up with the sides of Yang and candidate Yoon Jaebok. "The party's Special Committee for Strengthening Organizations proposed a revote, and Yang herself not only accepted it but also signed an agreement," he said.

Addressing Yang's reference to the protest at Olympic Park, Jung said, "Party leader Jang is more acutely aware than anyone of the infringement of citizens' right to vote [in the 9th Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections] and has been at the forefront of the fight against it. Trying to discredit him is a deliberate attempt to undermine him."

Jang was also reportedly displeased during a closed-door meeting. "It seems he took it badly because he has been fighting harder than anyone to protect people's right to vote," Jung said. "He was probably uncomfortable with the issue being amplified and reproduced outside the party as if there were some problem with the primary."

Attention is also focused on whether the conflict will escalate into an internal battle over disciplinary action. Asked whether Yang would be referred for disciplinary action, Jung said, "Whether to refer her to the disciplinary committee is not something I should comment on," adding, "If an issue is raised, the appropriate procedures will follow."

Meanwhile, the People Power Party plans to hold the revote for the runoff to select the chair of its organizational committee for the Gap district in Yongin as scheduled. Yang has stated that she will not take part in the revote. "As announced, we will provide details about the runoff revote this afternoon," Jung said. "If she does not participate, the Special Committee for Strengthening Organizations will make a decision later."

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