Jang Dong-hyuk Surpasses Resignation Calls to Become 'Longest-Serving' Party Chair…Reelection and General Election Nomination Rights Now Test

People Power Party Chair Jang Dong-hyuk has set a record as the longest-serving party chair since the People Power Party's launch in 2020, overcoming repeated resignation demands and internal party conflicts since taking office.

According to political circles on the 26th, Chair Jang marked 425 days of reelection on the 25th, surpassing former Chair Lee Jun-seok's 424 days. This comes 14 months after being elected party chair on August 26 last year.

Since its launch in September 2020, the People Power Party has had no elected party chairs who completed the full two-year term. Former Chair Lee served 424 days, former Chair Kim Gi-hyun 280 days, and former Chair Han Dong-hun 146 days before each stepping down.

Chair Jang, despite facing several political crises since taking office, has maintained his position and become the longest-serving party chair in People Power Party history.

Chair Jang's past 14 months have been a time of choosing head-on confrontation rather than altering course in the face of internal and external pressure.

In December last year, he conducted a 24-hour filibuster in opposition to legislation establishing a dedicated court for insurrection cases, and in January this year, he went on an 8-day hunger strike demanding acceptance of the so-called "dual special prosecution" into Unification Church political lobbying and Democratic Party campaign donation allegations.

He also did not back down on internal party matters. Despite continued backlash against the People Power Party Central Ethics Committee's decision to expel former Chair Han Dong-hun, the highest-level committee made a final vote on the expulsion.

In the local elections in June, while the Democratic Party won 12 regional administrative posts, the People Power Party secured only four, intensifying calls for Chair Jang to resign.

However, Chair Jang made the ballot shortage incident in the local elections and management issues by the National Election Commission new agenda for confrontation with the ruling party. Subsequently, he continued attending related rallies and focused on rallying supporters.

This course of action has drawn mixed evaluations within the party. While some praised the clear stance of the opposition secured through aggressive confrontation, others criticized it for escalating internal party conflicts and showing limitations in expanding to moderate voters.

Evaluations of the longest-serving chair record also differ between the ruling and opposition parties.

Democratic Party floor leader Han Byung-do conveyed congratulations to Chair Jang at the highest-level meeting held at the National Assembly on the day, but criticized that "the past 14 months have been a time of conservative political decline marked by reckless rhetoric, incitement, and allegations of fraudulent elections."

Democratic Party chief spokesperson Park Sung-jun also characterized Chair Jang as a "master of endurance" in a commentary, downplaying his achievement of maintaining his position despite local election defeat and internal demands for resignation.

In response, People Power Party spokesperson Cho Yong-sul countered by raising issues about Democratic Party Chair Kim Min-seok's internal leadership.

People Power Party chief spokesperson Choi Bo-yun stated, "The duration is not what matters, but rather what path we have taken during that time," and evaluated that "it has been a year of building a party that can fight when conservatism is collapsing."

However, the party organizational renewal promoted on the occasion of his first anniversary as chair was scaled down from the original plan.

Chair Jang pursued a plan in August to hold simultaneous reelection of all 254 local party chapter chairs nationwide and introduce responsibility member voting. However, due to continued backlash from incumbent lawmakers and some leadership, he shifted from a full reelection to applying direct election beginning with regions where local party chapter chairs are vacant.

In fact, in late last month, the People Power Party's special committee for organizational strengthening decided to implement responsibility member voting in nine troubled local chapters, including Yongin-gap in Gyeonggi Province.

While the "member-centered party" emphasized by Chair Jang has been partially realized, he has not managed to implement comprehensive organizational restructuring across the nation.

Both inside and outside the party, there is discussion of Chair Jang challenging for reelection at the next party convention scheduled for August next year. If reelection succeeds, he could exercise influence over the 2028 general election nomination process, making Chair Jang's future actions intertwined with the party's power structure.

However, the need for a leadership change continues to be raised mainly by the non-mainstream faction within the party, and issues of conservative unity and expansion to moderate voters remain unresolved tasks.

Chair Jang is scheduled to continue his course of action toward traditional supporters, attending a memorial service for former President Park Chung-hee today and visiting former President Park's birthplace in Gumi, North Gyeongbuk on the 30th. In addition, he plans to pursue policy development through a special real estate committee and policy platform.