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.
Reform Party at crossroads as conservative realignment looms
Reform Party leader Rep. Lee Jun-seok enters a press room at the National Assembly in Seoul, Wednesday, before announcing his resignation as party leader. Yonhap
By Bahk Eun-ji
Lee Jun-seok, Han Dong-hoon emerge as key variables ahead of 2028 general election
Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon speaks during a plenary meeting of the National Assembly Special Committee on Budget and Accounts in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
Korea’s conservative camp is entering another period of uncertainty. The Reform Party is facing a choice between trying to survive on its own or joining forces with the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), as conservative politics begins to shift ahead of the 2028 general election.
The party’s poor showing in the June local elections and Rep. Lee Jun-seok’s resignation as its leader have raised questions over whether it can remain viable as an independent political force. The future moves of the 41-year-old politician and independent lawmaker Rep. Han Dong-hoon, both currently outside the PPP, could also shape a broader conservative realignment.
Political observers say an immediate merger between the Reform Party and the PPP remains unlikely, but question whether the minor party can make it to the 2028 election on its own.
Kim Jin-wook, a special professor at Shinhan University, said the Reform Party differs from smaller parties built around a clearly defined cause and a loyal core of supporters. Although it has sought to operate as a mainstream party, it has failed to broaden its support, he said.
“I believe the Reform Party is heading toward a merger,” Kim said, adding that without Lee at the helm, it may retain its name but struggle to function as an effective political party.
Hong Hyeong-sik, director of Hangil Research, was similarly skeptical.
“It will be an extremely difficult road,” Hong said. He described the Reform Party as essentially a party centered on Lee, noting that it has yet to produce another politician with comparable public recognition.
The party fielded 192 candidates in the local elections and parliamentary by-elections but won just one local council seat, in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, where Lee’s constituency is located.
The poor performance has revived questions over whether the Reform Party will eventually seek a merger or electoral alliance with the PPP, although the party has denied that its leaders are considering joining.
Differences over the party’s strategy for 2028 had emerged even before Lee stepped down. In announcing his resignation, Lee referred to an “unavoidable political timetable,” widely seen as a reference to the 2028 general election.
Lee reportedly proposed concentrating key Reform Party candidates in southern Gyeonggi Province to build a regional base, but other senior figures preferred to run elsewhere.
Reports said Lee suspected that some party heavyweights might be keeping their options open to eventually join the PPP, which they denied.
Hong said divisions over the party’s future could deepen as the general election approaches. A merger or alliance with the PPP could become an “exit route,” he said, while a split within the PPP itself could open another path for the Reform Party to join forces with conservative dissidents.
Lee’s own next move may not necessarily be in step with the party he founded.
Kim compared Lee to a company founder who has stepped away from management but may still retain a stake in the business.
“The question is whether the founder can give up his entire stake, or whether he will retain some influence even after stepping away from day-to-day management,” Kim said.
Han adds another layer of uncertainty to the conservative landscape. A former justice minister under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, Han led the PPP from July to December 2024, before being expelled from the party in January 2026 and winning a National Assembly seat in Busan's Buk-A constituency as an independent in the June by-election.
He recently joined Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon in criticizing PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok. Some PPP lawmakers have also questioned how the party can broaden its appeal while keeping figures such as Lee and Han at arm’s length.
Still, analysts see obstacles to Lee and Han forming an alliance of their own.
Kim said the two may have reasons to cooperate within a broader conservative coalition but are also potential presidential rivals.
“They become stronger if they join forces, but that also makes it difficult for them to come together,” he said.
Hong said their support bases do not substantially overlap, with Lee drawing relatively stronger support from voters in their 20s and 30s and Han having stronger backing among older female voters.
Hong said a larger realignment will ultimately depend on the future direction of the PPP. More inclusive leadership could create room for a broad conservative coalition, while continued efforts to push out dissenters could instead trigger defections and further fragmentation.
“For conservatives, achieving a broad coalition would be the best outcome, while division would be the worst,” Hong said.