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.
PPP reform drive questioned as incumbents cut while Seoul mayor is courted
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon announces his intention to register for the People Power Party's Seoul mayoral primary for the June 3 local election at a press conference at Seoul City Hall, Tuesday. Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
PPP nomination committee chief Lee Jung-hyun walks to the podium at the party’s headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
The People Power Party's (PPP) local election nomination committee is facing criticism for its contradictory approach — barring incumbents from the race in some regions while repeatedly reopening registration in Seoul to recruit current Mayor Oh Se-hoon.
This inconsistency has fueled concerns that the main opposition party’s “reform” drive may be motivated more by internal political calculations than by a desire to be more competitive.
The party’s committee on Monday decided to cut off incumbent North Chungcheong Governor Kim Young-hwan from the nomination process and reopen candidate registration before selecting a final nominee. This is the first time the committee had excluded a current metropolitan-level head since its launch.
Nomination committee chief Lee Jung-hyun defended the decision, saying the party must show voters a willingness to change rather than settling for stability.
“What the PPP needs to demonstrate is not politics as usual, but politics that shakes itself up and transforms,” Lee told reporters, emphasizing the need for political renewal.
Kim immediately pushed back, accusing the committee of undermining due process.
“The committee has destroyed the principles and procedures of liberal democracy,” he said, fueling suspicions that the decision may have been made with a particular candidate in mind.
The move increased anxiety within the party, with speculation growing that similar cutoffs targeting incumbents or senior figures could follow in other key regions, such as Daegu and Busan.
Controversy intensified in Busan, where the committee was said to have considered excluding incumbent Mayor Park Heong-joon and granting a single nomination to Rep. Joo Jin-woo. The idea triggered strong backlash from within the party.
Park criticized the move, saying “Cutting off an incumbent without clear criteria is neither a winning strategy nor a reform.”
Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon, right, and PPP Rep. Joo Jin-woo, who are vying for the party’s nomination in the June 3 local elections, pose for a photo ahead of a mayoral candidate interview at the party’s headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, March 11. Yonhap
Lawmakers in Busan also met with party leadership to call for an open primary, arguing that a competitive race would strengthen the party’s chances in the election.
Amid mounting pressure, the nomination committee ultimately reversed course and decided to select the Busan mayoral candidate through a primary between Park and Joo.
The controversy has also spread to Seoul, where Oh announced his bid for the PPP's mayoral nomination just before the deadline Tuesday, after days of refusing to register.
At a press conference, he openly criticized the party leadership, saying “The leadership has failed to present changes that the public can accept and is steering the party in the wrong direction.”
He added, “I will not look at power, but only at the level of citizens,” emphasizing that the upcoming election should be decided by voters rather than political calculations.
The nomination committee had extended candidate registration twice to bring Oh into the race, highlighting tensions between the mayor and the party leadership.
Observers say the unfolding conflict suggests that the reform push is not merely about refreshing the party’s image, but also about reshaping its internal power structure.
Political commentator Rhee Jong-hoon said election nominations are one of the most effective tools for reorganizing power within a party.
“Excluding incumbents or senior figures from nominations is not simply about evaluating competitiveness. It reflects political calculations tied to internal power dynamics,” Rhee said
He added that promoting new figures while sidelining established ones could be part of a broader effort to realign the party ahead of future political contests.
“Nomination decisions inevitably affect the balance of power within the party, and conflicts arising in the process are, to some extent, unavoidable,” he said.
Rhee also suggested that the push to replace incumbents may be linked to efforts by party leadership to consolidate its organizational base ahead of future elections, rather than a purely policy-driven reform agenda.
Another political commentator Jung Kwang-jae questioned the political logic behind the Busan case.
“Cutting off the Busan Mayor is unlikely to help either the Busan race or the party nationwide,” Jung said, adding that pushing ahead with a single nomination under such circumstances would have been a politically risky move.