Former judge vows to end Lee administration, calls for conservative solidarity
Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok, a second-term lawmaker and former judge, was elected Monday as the new leader of the main opposition People Power Party, narrowly defeating Kim Moon-soo, the party’s presidential candidate in the June 3 election.
According to the People Power Party, Jang won 50.27 percent of the vote, just overtaking Kim’s 49.73 percent in a runoff decided by 80 percent party member ballots and 20 percent public opinion polling. Though Kim led slightly in the public polls, Jang’s margin in the party member vote was enough to tip the balance.
The two had advanced from Friday’s convention after neither secured a majority in the initial vote.
In his acceptance speech at the National Assembly in Seoul, Jang pledged to "end the Lee Jae Myung administration," calling for solidarity among all conservatives. "Please stay with me until the end," he said, "so that the People Power Party can be reborn as a victorious, reformed party."
A relatively new face, Jang’s rise comes with a remarkable shift in his standing within the party’s internal dynamics.
A former judge, Jang, entered politics in 2022 through a parliamentary by-election. His early political career was shaped under the then-party leader Han Dong-hoon, who appointed him secretary-general and tapped him as a key ally.
But the two parted ways late last year when the National Assembly voted to impeach former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his controversial martial law declaration on Dec. 3. Han, once a close ally of Yoon and his former justice minister, supported the impeachment — Jang did not.
Jang broke away, joined the anti-impeachment camp, and began building his base among hard-line conservatives who became increasingly vocal in their opposition to the Democratic Party and the court’s decision to uphold Yoon’s impeachment.
Earlier this year, Jang served as chief strategist for Kim Moon-soo’s presidential campaign ahead of the June 3 election. Kim, at the time, stood as a symbolic figure among conservatives after refusing to apologize for Yoon’s martial law declaration during a National Assembly session.
However, the alliance between the two began to fray after the People Power Party’s defeat in the presidential race.
Kim was initially regarded as the natural choice to lead the party. But in trying to broaden his appeal — by admitting flaws in Yoon’s martial law declaration, reaching out to Han, and meeting with Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, another leadership candidate who had called for a clean break from Yoon — he ended up losing favor with the party’s hard-line base.
Jang went the other way. He intensified his criticism of the Lee administration, denounced Yoon's ousting as illegitimate, and flatly rejected any reconciliation with pro-impeachment figures.
As part of that strategy, Jang also actively engaged with conservative YouTubers.
Among them was Jeon Han-gil, a celebrity lecturer and prominent far-right commentator whose influence has grown among the People Power Party's base.
Jang was the first among the party’s leadership contenders to appear on Jeon’s broadcasts, where he underscored his hard-line positions. Jeon, who has over 500,000 YouTube subscribers as of Tuesday, later publicly endorsed Jang.
In his Tuesday acceptance speech, Jang also acknowledged the impact of those platforms. "Today's victory was made by our party members," he said, adding that "the power of the new media environment also made this possible."
During a press conference following his election as party leader, Jang pledged to form a counter team in response to the ongoing special counsel investigations targeting former President Yoon, his wife Kim Keon Hee, and the People Power Party.
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