Minor Rebuilding Korea Party elects new leader

Shin Jang-sik, newly elected leader of the minor Rebuilding Korea Party, waves the party's flag following his election at a national convention at the Suwon Convention Center in the city, Saturday. Yonhap

The minor Rebuilding Korea Party on Saturday elected Rep. Shin Jang-sik as its new leader after former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, who founded and led the party, stepped down last month following the June 3 local elections.

Shin was the sole candidate at the party's national convention Saturday and was elected with the support of 96.7 percent of party members who cast ballots.

It marked the first time the party had elected a leader at a national convention since Cho was elected to the post in November 2025 following the party's foundation.

Shin has pledged to pursue a more assertive reform agenda than the ruling Democratic Party (DP), a political ally, saying his party should "broaden the playing field on the left."

He is expected to take a tougher line than the DP on prosecutorial reform, including efforts to abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigative powers.

"We will remain vigilant until the moment the prosecutorial reform bill passes a plenary session of the National Assembly," Shin said.

He has made strengthening the party a priority and rejected the prospect of it being absorbed into the DP.

The party is also expected to consider changing its name. Its Korean name, Cho Kuk Hyukshin Party, includes the name of its founder, though "cho kuk" also means "homeland" in Korean.

Cho lost his bid for a parliamentary seat in the Pyeongtaek-B constituency in Gyeonggi Province in a by-election held alongside the local elections.

The Rebuilding Korea Party also failed to win any of the 16 major mayoral and gubernatorial posts or the 14 parliamentary seats contested in elections held that day.