Jang Dong-hyuk’s campaign ship looks shipwrecked before it even sets sail, as regional "independent campaign committees" gain momentum

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[The Financial News] The Jang Dong-hyuk camp, which is supposed to steer the June 3 local elections, is already facing a shipwreck before it has even left port. Jang's leadership asked senior party lawmakers to serve as chairmen of the central election committee, but they have not yet responded. As Jang has effectively rejected a centrist expansion strategy and drifted further from public sentiment, local election candidates are also accelerating efforts to form their own campaign committees.
According to the opposition camp on the 28th, Jang is struggling to assemble a central campaign committee for the election. The leadership reportedly offered the chairmanship to senior lawmakers Kim Gi-hyeon, Na Kyung-won, and Ahn Cheol-soo, but they have not accepted it yet. Some of the senior lawmakers are said to have turned it down, saying it would be difficult to win elections under Jang's leadership.
As Jang's influence within the party appears to be weakening, lawmakers and candidates are increasingly acting on their own. A person close to Ahn said, "It is important to support the candidates running for local government posts in Gyeonggi and Seongnam, which are his constituencies," adding, "We have received the proposal, so we are still considering it."
At a breakfast meeting held that day, Alternative and Future, a group of reform-minded lawmakers within the party, reportedly discussed concerns over Jang's "subtracting politics," including the expulsion of former leader Han Dong-hoon. After the meeting, floor secretary Lee Seong-gwon told reporters, "The conservative camp is shrinking because of internal conflict and subtracting politics," adding, "We agreed that the leadership needs to devise a strategy for addition politics and addition elections."
Candidates in the local elections and by-elections for the National Assembly who have signaled that they will align themselves with a strong anti-Han Dong-hoon line once nomination papers bearing Jang's seal are issued are emerging one after another. That is because some candidates feel burdened by Jang's warning that he could replace candidates over acts deemed harmful to the party. For now, they are moving to draw a line between themselves and Jang's leadership, which is losing public support, including by forming regional "independent campaign committees."
In some regions, former Employment and Labor Minister Kim Moon-soo, who was the party's presidential candidate in the last election, is being elevated as honorary regional campaign chairman. Kim is expected to serve as campaign chairman in Busan, followed by Daegu Metropolitan City, Gyeongbuk, and Gangwon State. Some within the party interpret this as an effort to win over public sentiment through Kim, the former presidential candidate, rather than putting Jang at the forefront and expecting to secure votes.
Among lawmakers aligned with the pro-Han Dong-hoon faction, there are growing calls for Jang to begin a broader conservative election alliance by not fielding a candidate in the Busan Buk-gu-gap constituency. Han is preparing to run there after registering his residence in the district. Even if the party does not skip the race, there are repeated arguments that a unified candidate is needed between the People Power Party's likely nominee, former MPVA Minister Park Min-shik. Observers say the decision on the Busan Buk-gu-gap by-election could determine Jang's leadership just before the local elections.
haeram@fnnews.com Lee Hae-ram Reporter