Jang Dong-hyuk's campaign committee launched with fanfare... local election candidates say they are 'decoupling'

[Financial News] The People Power Party launched its Central Election Campaign Committee with Standing Election Campaign Committee Chair Jang Dong-hyuk at the helm. By placing experts in each field in key standing committee posts and party leadership figures as co-chairs, the party is effectively being described as a one-man committee centered on Jang. The party plans to make the Special Prosecutor Act for Dismissal of Prosecutions, also referred to as the Special Counsel Act on Fabricated Prosecution, the main issue in the June 3 local elections and highlight a "judgment on the administration," but the launch itself appears to be getting off to a rough start amid the departure of Youth Supreme Council member Woo Jae-joon and friction with regional campaign committees.
The People Power Party held the launch ceremony for the People Power Party Election Countermeasure Committee to Block the Indictment Withdrawal Against the People’s Will at its headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 13th. Jang, who serves as standing chair of the campaign committee, said, "This local election is the final battle that will determine the fate of South Korea and the lives of its people." He added, "We must set aside our small differences for a moment and unite our strength behind the People Power Party."
Candidates for metropolitan city and provincial governor posts, including Oh Se-hoon, did not attend the launch of the central campaign committee. Only candidates for by-elections to the National Assembly, such as Park Min-sik for Busan Buk-gu-gap and Lee Jin-sook for Daegu Dalseong, attended the event, which was held alongside the presentation of nomination certificates. Others, including Yu Eui-dong for Pyeongtaek-eul, Gyeonggi, were absent.
The scene stood in contrast to the launch of the central campaign committee for the 2022 South Korean local elections. At that time, candidates including Oh, Kim Eun-hye for governor of Gyeonggi Province, Hong Joon-pyo for mayor of Daegu, Park Hyung-joon for mayor of Busan, and Yoo Jeong-bok for mayor of Incheon Metropolitan City attended the ceremony. Lee Jun-seok was the standing campaign chair at the time. This time, however, one official from a metropolitan candidate's camp said, "We should take into account that every election is different, but we were not asked to attend this campaign committee launch."
Candidates for metropolitan posts in the Seoul capital area are drawing a line between themselves and the "Jang Dong-hyuk campaign committee," saying they will focus on regional campaign activities instead. In particular, Oh had called for Jang to step back from the front line and for an early launch of an "innovation campaign committee," but he has voiced dissatisfaction after Jang took the top post in the campaign. At a debate hosted by the Broadcast Journalists Club (BJC) on the 12th, Oh said, "It does not seem absolutely necessary for him to support me." In response, an aide to Oh said, "The central campaign committee will engage in political battles over issues such as indictment withdrawal, while the regional candidates' committees will focus on the politics of everyday life for citizens." The aide added, "We have been decoupling from the line taken by Jang for quite some time."
Some friction also emerged after Woo Jae-joon, who is classified as part of the pro-Han faction, withdrew from the central campaign committee. Woo's name had been included in a press release listing the committee members, but he said he had not been consulted in advance and declined to participate. He did not appear at the launch ceremony either.

[email protected] Lee Hae-ram Reporter