People Power Party candidates turn to Kim Moon-soo as local election face

With the June 3 local elections approaching, People Power Party candidates are increasingly turning to Kim Moon-soo, a former candidate, rather than party leader Jang Dong-hyeok as the campaign’s public face. Reports say candidates in Busan, Daegu, Gangwon, Sejong and North Gyeongsang Province have asked Kim to serve as an honorary chief campaign chair or to join their stump speeches. That candidates would elevate another figure despite having a sitting party leader underscores the party’s current predicament.
 
In party elections, the leader is typically the party’s face — traveling nationwide to back candidates, unifying messages and ultimately taking responsibility for defeat. When candidates look elsewhere, it signals more than tactics: distrust in the leadership, an internal view that the current brand is a weak asset, and an attempt to rally core supporters through a workaround.
 
The party’s situation has been described in stark terms. In recent elections and opinion trends, conservatives have struggled to show the cohesion they once had, not only in the Seoul metropolitan area but also in traditional strongholds. Critics have pointed to weak candidate competitiveness, factional conflict and leadership confusion, saying preparations for the local elections have not been smooth. In some areas, even finalizing candidate lineups has been delayed, and sitting lawmakers have pressed the leadership to settle matters quickly.
 
Against that backdrop, the renewed focus on Kim carries weight. During the last presidential election, Kim emerged as a symbol of consolidating conservative support and has been assessed as having mobilizing power among hard-line conservatives. For candidates in areas where votes are urgently needed, choosing a figure seen as able to draw a proven base may look like a practical option compared with the current leadership.
 
But relying on a familiar figure also has limits. A party that repeatedly calls back past personalities can struggle to present a forward-looking vision. Elections cannot be won on nostalgia alone. Voters tend to ask less about who is more hard-line than about who can revive local economies and address transportation, housing and jobs. Local elections are a test of day-to-day governance, not simply a proxy fight for national politics. If a party leans on one person’s symbolism, its organization and policy competitiveness can only weaken further.
 
The issue is not limited to Jang personally. If swapping out one leader could solve a structural crisis, it would have been resolved long ago. The deeper question is why candidates feel they need a star figure more than the party’s own banner. The party must examine why its message has lost force, why younger and centrist voters have drifted away, and why solutions to local issues are not coming through.
 
A party is not meant to borrow a face each election season. It should build trust, develop talent and be judged on policy. The fact that People Power Party candidates are seeking out Kim highlights not only his presence, but the party’s absence.
 
For conservative politics to regain its footing, the priority is not a change of signage but a change in fundamentals. A campaign that bypasses the leader to install another face is, at best, a stopgap. Voters already know that substance — not a figurehead — decides elections.