According to the People Power Party on the 7th, the party decided to hold the floor leader election at 10 a.m. on the 10th, postponing it by one day from the originally scheduled date of the 9th.
This decision followed a meeting held that day at the National Assembly between former Floor Leader Song Eun-seok and the group of candidates. Immediately after the meeting, Rep. Sung Il-jong told reporters, “We have decided to postpone the election by one day and hold it at 10 a.m. on the 10th,” adding, “We have also decided to consider a plan to provide mobile voting opportunities for lawmakers currently on overseas business trips.”
He explained, “There were no disagreements, and the decision was made after considering various schedules,” noting, “There are precedents for using mobile voting in the party leadership election and the Democratic Party of Korea’s election for National Assembly Speaker.”
Previously, there had been ongoing controversy within the party regarding the election schedule.
The People Power Party announced the schedule—with candidate registration closing on the 7th and the election taking place on the 9th—immediately after former floor leader Song resigned on the 5th to take responsibility for the defeat in the local elections. This effectively left only two days for campaigning.
Currently, three candidates—Representatives Kim Do-eup, Jeong Jeom-sik, and Seong Il-jong—have declared their intention to run.
Rep. Seong criticized the situation on social media the previous day, stating, “Most lawmakers heard about this schedule for the first time and have no idea who set such a rushed schedule, how it was decided, or why.” He added, “I express serious regret that the party leadership is exhibiting behavior that runs counter to internal party democracy.” Rep. Kim is also reported to have requested an adjustment to the schedule.
“Alternatives and the Future,” a group of young lawmakers within the party, also issued a statement, saying, “There was no public consultation process for the election of the new floor leadership,” and demanded, “First, convene a general meeting of lawmakers to gather their consensus and finalize the schedule for electing the floor leader.”
It is also reported that in the lawmakers’ group chat, Reps. Shin Seong-beom, Cho Eun-hee, and Kim Mi-ae publicly raised the issue, arguing for the need to adjust the schedule.
In particular, there are interpretations both inside and outside the party that this may be due to concerns over the influence of independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon, who recently entered the National Assembly through the Busan Buk-gap by-election.
Kim Jong-hyuk, a former Supreme Council member classified as part of the pro-Han faction, argued, “This is a calculated move to hold the floor leader election quickly before People Power Party lawmakers become unsettled by Han Dong-hoon’s emergence, thereby maintaining the pro-Yoon faction’s dominance.”
On the other hand, the party leadership maintained that there was no room to postpone the election.
They argued that with pressing issues piling up—including negotiations on the composition of the National Assembly for the second half of the year, the allocation of standing committee chairs, and the response to the recent ballot shortage crisis—the party’s leadership structure must be restored as soon as possible. In fact, former Floor Leader Song is reported to have met with the candidates for floor leader, mentioning the negotiations on the Assembly’s composition and the response to the National Election Commission, to explain the need for a swift election.
