Hardliner elected new PPP leader as party still grapples with Yoon's fallout

Jang Dong-hyuk the newly elected leader of the People Power Party waves the party flag after winning the leadership race at the National Assembly in Yeouido western Seoul on Aug 26 2025 Yonhap — Jang Dong-hyeok, a lawmaker of the People Power Party, reacts after being elected the party's new leader at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on Aug. 26, 2025. Yonhap

SEOUL, August 26 (AJP) - Hardline lawmaker Jang Dong-hyeok was elected as the new leader of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Tuesday.

Jang garnered about 220,000 votes or 50.27 percent in a neck-and-neck runoff at the National Assembly in Seoul, narrowly defeating another staunch conservative and former presidential candidate Kim Moon-soo, who earned about 217,000 votes.

The two-term lawmaker's win comes as a surprise as he has been vehemently opposed to the impeachment of disgraced former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his Dec. 3 declaration of martial law, unlike two other candidates Cho Kyoung-tae and Ahn Cheol-soo, who dropped out of the early stage of the race while insisting on distancing the party from Yoon.

Rejecting calls to apologize for Yoon's martial law debacle, Jang even openly expressed his intention to meet with Yoon, who has been detained at a remand prison in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province.

With Jang at the helm of the PPP, an even rockier road seems to lie ahead, making the already faltering party even more floundering. It remains to be seen whether he can unify the party, which is divided by deep internal rifts over Yoon's ouster, while also regaining public support ahead of next year's local elections.

Im Yoon-seo lyseo0330@ajupress.com