People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok has announced he will attend a rally at Olympic Park in Jamsil on Liberation Day, Saturday, to protest what organizers call violations of voting rights — with 3,500 party members expected to gather at the site.
According to Yonhap, more than 40 non-incumbent district chapter heads posted their planned turnout figures in a group chat shared by roughly 110 PPP non-incumbent chapter heads, collectively accounting for the 3,500 attendees expected Saturday. Each posted their name, constituency and the number of members they planned to bring — ranging from as few as 10 to as many as 300 per chapter.
Jang recently dined with non-incumbent chapter heads and urged them to "do politics for the party, not politics of falling in line." He also summoned provincial and city party officials to PPP headquarters to encourage their participation in the Olympic Park rally, according to sources.
The party, however, has insisted that each chapter is making its own independent arrangements. Chief spokesperson Park Chung-kwon, speaking to reporters at the National Assembly on Friday, pushed back on suggestions that the party was effectively lining up chapter heads. "As far as I know, no separate notice was sent to non-incumbent chapter heads," he said. "My understanding is that they are preparing to attend the event on their own initiative, and I believe they find it regrettable that such reports have appeared."
Asked whether the mobilization was linked to the party leadership's ongoing review of how to select chapter heads whose terms expire later this month, Park said, "I think that falls under the realm of interpretation. The direction of the Special Committee for Organizational Strengthening has not yet been decided, and my understanding is that the chapter heads had already been thinking about attending the event before any of that."
klee@heraldcorp.com
