Bahk Eun-ji has been with The Korea Times since 2012, building a career across multiple desks. She began at the Business Desk, where she conducted in-depth interviews with key figures in Korea's corporate world. Later, she moved to the Politics & City Desk, focusing on education policy and social affairs. She later served as team leader of the digital content team, leading curation efforts on the newspaper’s homepage and reshaping print stories for social media audiences to enhance digital reach. Now back on the Politics Desk, she covers the National Assembly and the Ministry of National Defense, with a renewed focus on political developments.
People Power Party in peril as approval plummets
Rep. Yun Hee-suk, head of the People Power Party’s reform committee, enters a party caucus at the National Assembly after a plenary session, Wednesday. Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) is facing one of the gravest crises in its history. Since its defeat in the June 3 presidential election, support for the conservative bloc has plummeted to record lows and reform efforts have largely stalled. With controversies over far-right politics, special counsel investigations and bitter internal disputes converging, the party is struggling to find a way forward.
Recent polling highlights the scale of the decline: The latest National Barometer Survey (NBS), conducted from July 21 to 23, put PPP support at 17 percent — the lowest figure since the party, formerly known as the United Future Party, rebranded after merging with minor parties in 2020.
This figure has been falling for weeks, from 23 percent in mid-June to its current low a month later. The party’s traditional stronghold in the southeast, including the industrial hub of Busan and the port of city of Ulsan, is showing signs of weakness, with voter frustration now evident even in Daegu and rural parts of North and South Gyeongsang Province, areas that have long been considered the heartland of conservative politics in Korea.
The NBS survey was conducted through 100 percent mobile phone interviews and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level. The response rate was 17.4 percent.
Stalled reforms, deepening infighting
In hopes of steering a new course, the PPP launched an innovation committee led by Yun Hee-suk, the party’s former spokesperson. However, Yun’s initial proposal to include an apology for the Dec. 3 martial law incident and the party’s handling of impeachment in the charter was quickly met with resistance.
A dispute arose over whether Yun had been invited to a key caucus meeting. One analyst described this as a "baffling episode." Party leaders claimed they had reached out to her, but Yun countered that she was willing to attend the meeting, but had never received an official invitation.
Meetings were cancelled and hastily rescheduled, turning what should have been a straightforward discussion of her reform package into a day-long fiasco. Ultimately, the controversy overshadowed her main proposal — amending the party charter to include a formal apology for the Dec. 3 martial law incident and the party’s handling of impeachment — and it was quietly shelved. Senior members conceded that any real debate would now have to wait until after the national convention, scheduled for Aug. 22.
The party’s internal divisions have only grown in the meantime. The PPP’s audit committee ruled that the controversial decision to replace its presidential candidate earlier this year was improper and recommended tough penalties for those involved. This stemmed from an attempt by party leaders to strip Kim Moon-soo, the winner of the PPP’s primary, of his nomination and replace him with former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo — a move which ultimately collapsed amid backlash and legal challenges.
Rep. Kwon Young-se, one of the lawmakers targeted, denounced the finding as a “factional decision.” Reform-minded figures seized on the ruling to push for personnel changes, while pro-Yoon veterans fought back, saying the blame game was leading to further infighting.
People Power Party interim leader and floor leader Song Eon-seog attends an emergency steering committee meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
Trying for a reset amid far-right shadow
Meanwhile, new controversies continue to throw the party off balance. The involvement of Jeon Han-gil, a former history lecturer who referred to martial law as a “civil enlightenment decree” and claimed to have influenced the leadership race, has divided the PPP into pro- and anti-Jeon factions.
Several lawmakers are also under investigation by the special counsel, and raids on the offices of senior PPP figures have further damaged the party’s image. Officials privately admit that the investigations are eroding what little public trust remains.
In an attempt to counter this, the PPP is pinning its hopes on the August convention. The event will feature regional debate forums across the country — a deliberate move away from the idea of holding a muted, low-profile convention following the electoral defeat. Party strategists say they want to “reenergize the membership and pull voters back,” but enthusiasm is limited. Han Dong-hoon, widely seen as the party’s best chance for a fresh image, has withdrawn, leaving a crowded field of seven candidates for party leader, but no clear favorites.
As of Saturday, seven individuals have declared or signaled their intention to run, including former Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo, who was the first to step forward on July 20; six-term lawmaker Cho Kyoung-tae; two-term representative Jang Dong-hyeok; former prosecutor Rep. Joo Jin-woo; and former presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo. Former lawmakers Yang Hyang-ja and Jang Sung-min have also announced their intention to run, adding to an increasingly crowded race.
Critics warn that the August convention risks becoming “more of the same,” with impeachment-era divisions still dominating the PPP’s internal landscape and new ideas in short supply. Former PPP Supreme Council member Kim Jong-hyuk went further, describing the party as drifting into a “zombie” state — neither alive nor dead.
For now, the PPP is caught between stalled reforms, as its leadership has delayed making difficult decisions in hopes a convention will change the mood.
However, as trust in the party erodes and its factions grow more entrenched, it faces a stark challenge to reinvent itself before it’s too late.