Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Court rules in favor of ex-ruling party leader
An official enters the office of Rep. Joo Ho-young, interim leader of the ruling People Power Party, at party headquarters in Seoul, Friday, after he was suspended from performing his duties by a court. Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
Ruling paves way for Lee Jun-seok to return to People Power Party as chairman next year
By Jung Min-ho
A court has suspended the ruling party's interim leader Rep. Joo Ho-yong from work, allowing the ousted young leader, Lee Jun-seok, to return to its leadership once a six-month penalty period is over.
The Seoul Southern District Court on Friday nullified the People Power Party's (PPP) decision early this month to form an emergency committee over what it had called “a crisis.” This means Lee, 37, will likely reclaim the leadership post in January after being forced to give it up on July 8, when the ethics committee decided to suspend his party membership for six months over allegations of sexual bribery and cover-up attempts.
“If the party holds its national convention to elect a new leader under Joo's watch, there is a concern that Lee may suffer irreversible damage as it will prevent him from returning as its leader,” the court said.
“It is more reasonable to think that some members of the party's supreme council created an emergency rather than to think that there really was a situation in which the party could not function properly … This violates the rights of the party members who took part in the formation of the leadership system.”
The statement reflects much of what Lee pointed out. He criticized the decision to launch an emergency committee, saying the “crisis” was artificial and only done to remove him as its leader, and President Yoon Suk-yeol's declining approval ratings and the resignations of some party supreme council members were just excuses for the move.
The PPP's rules say it can form an emergency committee when its leadership post is vacant or the party cannot function normally.
Given that Lee was going to return to the party next year and that the party was functioning without major problems under Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, its floor leader, the court said the circumstances were insufficient to warrant necessity.
Joo immediately denounced the ruling, claiming that it violates the spirit of the Constitution that guarantees the freedom of political parties' democratic operations.
“We cannot accept the ruling that the party was not in a state of emergency,” Joo said in a statement. “It is right for a party to decide over whether it is in such a state … We will respond after collecting opinions from party members.”
People Power Party's suspended leader Lee Joon-seok / Newsis
Lee, however, called the decision “a historic ruling over the violations of party democracy,” saying that the party will do what is necessary to rectify the situation, in a statement.
All this means the factional infighting in the PPP is far from over and will likely become even worse.
Lee, who played a vital role in galvanizing young voters to win the executive office in March and a majority of local offices nationwide three months later, has clashed with what he calls the old establishment over the control of the conservative party.
His nonstop criticism of Kweon and some other politicians close to Yoon, has apparently had a negative impact on approval ratings for the president and the party. Many worry that his low approval ratings may jeopardize his reform agenda before it even starts.
According to a survey released Friday by Gallup Korea, 27 percent of respondents said they support Yoon, who enjoyed over 50 percent approval ratings when he took office. What's remarkable is how quick the decline in popularity has occurred despite ― not because of ― the opposition party, which has been struggling badly with its own infighting between the group supporting Rep. Lee Jae-myung and those who oppose him.