People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk has set a record for the longest tenure as party leader since the PPP was founded. Party figures say he has restored his standing through a forceful campaign against the governing party after surviving political hurdles including blame for the local elections. But criticism is substantial that by focusing on consolidating his hard-line base, he has shown limits in expanding support among moderates.
Jang marked his 425th day in office on the 25th, surpassing the 424-day tenure of former leader Lee Jun-seok, according to political circles. It is a new record set about six years after the PPP was launched in September 2020.
Within the party, the view on Jang's record is that "the one who endures is the strong one." The analysis is that although pressure to resign ran high over the expulsion of former leader Han Dong-hoon, a series of disciplinary actions against party figures and blame for the June 3 local elections, Jang strengthened his grip on the party by rallying his core base around the banner of a "member-centered party." His move into so-called "Olympic Park politics," using the shortage of ballot papers in the June 3 local elections as a hook, is also cited as a factor that tightened his bond with hard-line supporters.
A PPP district chapter chairman in the Seoul metropolitan area who does not hold a parliamentary seat said Jang had brought the party onto a stable track amid framing by a governing party with an overwhelming majority of seats and by established vested interests. The chairman added that the party should not stop at reaping gains from the backlash as the Lee Jae-myung government reveals its true colors, but should build a firm approval rating through internal cohesion.
There is also an assessment that he successfully led the fight against the governing party through a "two-track strategy" that divided roles with the parliamentary leadership. While Jang took the front line of the offensive with outdoor rallies and a hunger strike, the parliamentary leadership pressed the government and the governing party mainly through the parliamentary audit of government agencies and legislative responses, highlighting the party's presence as a "fighting opposition."
Jang plans to pursue both the consolidation of his support base and a livelihood agenda following the record. He will first attend a memorial ceremony on the 26th marking the 47th anniversary of the death of former President Park Chung-hee, seeking to rally the traditional base in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province. On the 28th, he will visit the site in Seoul's Olympic Park where ballot boxes are stored, in an outreach effort to his core supporters, and on the 30th he will begin his livelihood agenda in earnest with volunteer work harvesting rice in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province.
Still, with conflicts continuing with non-mainstream factions such as those aligned with Han Dong-hoon and with Oh Se-hoon, internal unity and the expansion of support among moderates remain challenges. Although his approval rating has recently rebounded, critics say there will inevitably be limits to broadening his base unless he wins over moderate voters.
One senior PPP lawmaker said Jang had merely endured and that it was hard to call it a success. The lawmaker added that if the party had fundamentally remade itself from the start and expanded its reach with figures such as Han Dong-hoon, Lee Jun-seok and Oh Se-hoon, it could have won a higher approval rating than it has now.