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People Power Party’s primary offers spectacle, not strategy

Published: 22 Apr. 2025, 00:00

Kwon Young-se, interim leader of the People Power Party, looks over campaign posters of presidential primary candidates as he arrives for an emergency leadership committee meeting at the National Assembly on April 21. [YONHAP]

The People Power Party (PPP) presidential primary is fast becoming an embarrassment. Regardless of how the current situation came about, the impeachment of a sitting president from its own ranks should have prompted the former ruling party to express remorse and pledge a fresh start. Instead, its contenders are locked in a cycle of mutual blame, failing to offer voters a sincere apology or a compelling vision for conservative renewal.

The impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol has already been legally settled, yet the party’s candidates remain mired in disputes over the past. During a televised debate earlier this week, candidate Han Dong-hoon said, “I believed martial law was illegal, and I took the lead in stopping it,” adding, “Dismissing it as a minor error is, in a broad sense, a defense of martial law.”

In response, Hong Joon-pyo called the plan “a two-hour mishap with no real damage.” Na Kyung-won struck back, saying, “Han’s rhetoric about rebellion and impeachment got us here in the first place.” Ahn Cheol-soo chimed in, urging Na, Kim Moon-soo and Hong to join what he called the “Jeon Kwang-hoon Party” if they continue to echo the far-right pastor’s views. Kim, meanwhile, blamed the Democratic Party for the failed martial law plan altogether.

Is this the line of attack the PPP plans to take against Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung in the presidential election — arguing over whether Yoon’s impeachment was justified? If so, the election is already lost. The PPP must stop litigating the past and start presenting a credible vision for Korea’s future. It must explain why it is better suited than the Democrats to govern. Without that, even fervent anti-Lee rhetoric will fall flat.

Instead, the primary is devolving into sideshows. In the latest debate, Hong told Han, “You’re already tall. Why are you wearing elevator shoes?” He went on to ask whether Han’s hair was natural and if he wore body-shaping undergarments. That such questions are asked in a presidential debate reflects poorly on the PPP’s seriousness.

The public seems to agree. In a Realmeter poll released Thursday, support for candidates aligned with the opposition bloc, including the Democratic Party, totaled 57.5 percent, while support for candidates in the PPP-led bloc was just 35.9 percent. The gap widened to 21.6 percentage points from 16.5 points the previous week, suggesting the PPP’s faltering primary has not only failed to draw attention, but it is pushing voters away.

So much so that Prime Minister Han Duck-soo’s potential candidacy is attracting more interest than the PPP’s ongoing race. Meanwhile, Yoon himself has fueled speculation about launching a new party by releasing a photo taken with several of his lawyers.

The PPP is set to announce four finalists for the second round of its primary today. It must acknowledge that the impeachment was a collective failure and move beyond it. If the second-round debates again revolve around who was more to blame for Yoon’s downfall, the party risks rendering itself irrelevant.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.