Jang Dong-hyeok sets record as longest-serving PPP leader, sparking exchange of barbs

PPP: 'Jang survived local election rout and calls to resign'

DP: 'Approval ratings hit lows since Kim Min-seok took office'

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok speaks at a rally hosted by Rep. Ju Jin-woo at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on Friday. [Yonhap]
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok speaks at a rally hosted by Rep. Ju Jin-woo at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on Friday. [Yonhap]

As People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok set a record as the longest-serving party leader since the PPP's founding, the Democratic Party of Korea and the PPP traded barbs targeting each other's leader.

Jang marked his 425th day in office Sunday, making him the longest-serving party leader among those who have led the PPP since it was founded in 2020.

The Democratic Party took aim at Jang that day, calling him a "master of hanging on."

Park Seong-jun, the Democratic Party's chief spokesperson, said in a written briefing, "Jang Dong-hyeok has become the longest-serving party leader since the PPP's founding — congratulations." He added sarcastically that the record was "the result of clinging to his post despite a crushing defeat in the local elections and a flood of calls to resign."

Park cited assessments from senior PPP lawmakers, saying one had remarked that Jang "looks pathetic — it's less that he served the longest term and more that he just refused to budge," while another said he "has been labeling everything as election fraud and obstructing the party's reform efforts."

Park also took a swipe at Jang over a recent controversy involving a leaked recording, saying Jang had "launched a special prosecutor investigation into the National Election Commission and cried election fraud, yet in the recording he said he 'doesn't really like fraud.'" He added sarcastically that it was "rare political skill to keep supporters standing in the square for 14 months on a slogan even he didn't believe."

Park further said there were voices inside and outside the party suggesting Jang was "eyeing a second term to hold onto candidate nomination power," and urged Jang to "know his place before dreaming of reelection."

The PPP hit back by turning the spotlight on Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok.

PPP spokesperson Jo Yung-sul said in a statement the same day, responding to the Democratic Party's "master of hanging on" briefing, "Is that really something to say when your own party leader's footing is already shaking right from the start?"

Jo said Kim had "boasted during his leadership campaign that if he became party leader, he would send approval ratings for the Democratic Party and President Lee Jae Myung soaring," but that "since taking office, the approval ratings of President Lee and the Democratic Party have hit record lows — proving from the very start that his promises were empty words."

Jo added that Kim had "ignited the Shincheonji controversy himself and is now shaking up the party by vowing to weed out anti-Lee factions," and asked, "What right does a party that split into pro-Lee and anti-Lee camps the moment its leader took office — becoming two families under one roof — have to criticize anyone?"

Jo also said that "while the Democratic Party is consumed by internal strife, real estate, the stock market and people's livelihoods are all faltering," and that "before meddling in others' affairs, looking at their own ugly reality is the bare minimum they owe the public."


shindw@heraldcorp.com