PPP, Seoul city hold budget policy meeting together
Jang pushes back on political reading of repeated meetings
Han Dong-hoon's return to PPP divides party
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon met again at the National Assembly on Friday, three days after their previous encounter.
As calls for conservative realignment and unity spread both inside and outside the party, a string of meetings among key figures has drawn attention to the question of who will lead the PPP — and whether prominent contenders might forge alliances. Adding to the mix, the prospect of independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon rejoining the party has surfaced, drawing a mix of anticipation and wariness within PPP ranks.
The PPP held a budget policy meeting with Oh at the National Assembly on Friday morning, focusing on ways to expand central government funding for Seoul. The meeting was attended by senior party leadership, including Seoul chapter chairwoman Rep. Jo Eun-hee, party leader Jang, floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik and policy committee chairwoman Im Yi-ja.
It was the first time Jang and Oh had appeared together at an official event since a policy forum at the National Assembly on Tuesday. At that forum, Jang had not included the event on his official schedule but showed up anyway alongside senior party figures, including Supreme Council member Shin Dong-wook, chief spokespersons Park Chung-kwon and Choi Bo-yun, and party leader's chief of staff Park Jun-tae.
Within the party, the two leaders' back-to-back meetings have not gone unnoticed, coming amid growing talk of conservative unity following Oh's recent acquittal in an appellate court ruling.
One PPP lawmaker said that as more contenders for party leadership emerge, the conditions for unity improve. "The more choices there are, the more room there will be for consolidation," the lawmaker said. "Moving beyond a two-way rivalry toward a multilateral competition is likely to be the starting point for unity."
Jang, however, drew a line against reading political significance into the repeated meetings. Appearing on a YouTube channel run by the Maeil Sinmun on Friday, he said the attention was simply the result of media spotlighting the encounters after Oh's appellate acquittal. "It's nothing more than the press shining a light and attaching special meaning to it," he said, while adding that the party and the Seoul Metropolitan Government should cooperate whenever there is work to be done together.
Meanwhile, the question of whether Han will rejoin the PPP has emerged as another flashpoint in the conservative unity debate. Rep. Park Jeong-hun wrote on Facebook on Friday that the issue should be viewed through the lens of winning the next general election. "Oh, who has strong appeal to centrist voters, cannot be involved in the next general election given his current status, which makes this all the more pressing," Park said.
On Thursday, four-term Rep. Kim Tae-ho wrote on Facebook that Han's "immediate return should be pursued in the spirit of the greater good." Five-term Rep. Yun Sang-hyeon and Rep. Ahn Sang-hun, a member of the pro-Han faction, also voiced support for Kim's position, lending further momentum to the push for Han's return.
Within the party, however, there are concerns that rushing toward unity could deepen divisions rather than heal them. Another PPP lawmaker said lingering resentment toward Han in the wake of the impeachment crisis remained strong and that rebuilding trust would take time. A senior lawmaker also cautioned that a clumsy attempt at consolidation could end up gathering people with incompatible goals under one roof, generating more conflict than cohesion.
mp1256@heraldcorp.com
