Jang Pushes Member-Centered Overhaul; Rivals Cry Purge

Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, has put forward "Member Sovereignty 2.0" as the first task of his party reform drive, now that he has passed the halfway mark of his term. Despite internal resistance over the direct election of district chapter chairs, he repeatedly stressed a member-centered approach to running the party, signaling his intent to serve out the remaining year of his term. Critics inside and outside the party call it, in effect, the opening shot of a purge of those opposed to Jang. Meanwhile, lawmakers who have served four or more terms requested a meeting with Jang, saying, "It will be hard to win the 2028 general election in this state."

At a press conference marking one year in office, held on the 26th at the party's central headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, Jang said, "By having members participate directly in the selection of metropolitan and provincial chapter chairs and district chapter chairs, we will further expand member sovereignty."

Jang also laid out plans to broaden opportunities for member participation by introducing mobile membership cards and subdividing the membership system, and to strengthen the party's organizational management system by improving party audit and evaluation indicators and systematizing member education. He promised to launch a "Member Sovereignty 2.0 Committee" that will pursue revisions to the party constitution and bylaws for administrative reform.

Placing "Member Sovereignty 2.0" at the forefront of this reform package appears to reflect an intent to shore up his support base by leading with an expansion of members' authority, while maintaining the current leadership structure for the remainder of his term. "No party can exist without its members, and I believe the strength of the members is the strength of the party," Jang said. "As a result of steadily pursuing stage-by-stage reform toward becoming a member-centered party, the solidarity of our members has grown even firmer despite the Lee Jae-myung administration's relentless insurrection framing and political retaliation."

Formally, Jang's vision of a member-centered party is a decentralizing reform that reduces the party leader's authority and broadens that of members. In practice, however, it has drawn resistance within the party because it could amplify the influence of hard-line members with strong mobilization capacity and high voter turnout.

In particular, because a considerable number of sitting lawmakers calling for Jang's resignation also serve as district chapter chairs, some argue that direct elections could effectively amount to a purge of the non-leadership faction. The introduction of direct elections has been put on hold for now amid resistance from lawmakers, but with Jang stating that he will stick to his existing course, internal conflict is expected to flare up again as he revives the plan.

"For the sake of winning the general election, it is only natural, and in keeping with the intent of the party constitution and bylaws, that district chapter chairs who have won the members' support continue in their posts," Jang said, underscoring that his conviction about his existing course has not changed.

The reform plan announced that day drew a string of complaints within the party. Lawmakers belonging to "Alternative and Future," a group of first- and second-term members, along with some lawmakers close to Han Dong-hoon, issued messages of their own in protest. Rep. Lee Sung-kwon offered sharp criticism, saying, "Leader Jang, who has leaned on a hard-line support base far removed from common sense and has failed to bring about a reasonable shift in the party's course, wants to build a 'strong party standing alone' in the face of public sentiment that is drifting ever further away. I cannot relate to that at all."

Rep. Jin Jong-oh, whose membership rights were suspended for helping independent candidate Han Dong-hoon in the June 3 National Assembly by-elections, said, "Planting one's own people, dressed up plausibly as 'member sovereignty' and 'member-centered,' is not reform but lining people up and seizing power." He stressed, "The reform the People Power Party needs now is not hunting for enemies within, but becoming a party that wins the public's heart."

Jang's renewed reference to the political futures of veteran lawmakers ahead of the next general election is another variable likely to deepen resistance within the party. Asked on the day whether he still believes veterans need to make sacrifices, Jang said, "This is not something to discuss at a time when we need to fight [the government and the ruling party]," while adding that it is "one of the things we have to think about in order to win the general election."

While Jang drew a line at the possibility of serving a second term as leader through the next general election, his remarks are read as meaning he could set the direction for a personnel shake-up aimed at winning that election during his remaining time in office. Coupled with the push for direct election of district chapter chairs, objections that this amounts to "filling posts with loyalists" are expected to grow.

At the gathering of lawmakers with four or more terms that day, only general discussion is said to have taken place regarding the "veteran sacrifice" argument Jang raised. The veterans did, however, share a sense of crisis that winning the next general election will be difficult under current conditions, and they requested regular meetings with Jang. "We agreed that it will be hard to win the general election with the party in this state," Rep. Lee Jong-bae said.