Jang Dong-hyuk, interim leader of the People Power Party, speaks at a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on the 19th. [Photo=Yonhap News]

After the People Power Party (PPP) declared a separation from former President Yoon Suk-yeol, criticism is rising among supporters, leading to arguments that while they may not support the PPP, Jang Dong-hyuk should continue to be supported. 

The logic is that Jang Dong-hyuk must continue to reform the party, despite the difficulties, by confronting the opportunistic lawmakers within the PPP. The argument is that Jang Dong-hyuk, a political novice, lacks a support base within the party and faces continuous resistance from vested interests, thus requiring compromises to maintain his leadership and reform the party. 

The argument claims that opportunistic lawmakers and those aligned with Han Dong-hoon are leveraging the criticism and division among right-wing voters towards the PPP to destabilize Jang Dong-hyuk's leadership. The logic further suggests that the party's approval ratings are falling due to internal divisions, and since there is no alternative to Jang Dong-hyuk, criticism of the PPP should cease, and Jang Dong-hyuk should be supported. 

Reasons for Jang Dong-hyuk's Lack of Internal Support

The reason Jang Dong-hyuk lacks an internal support base is not because he is a political novice. It is because he fails to demonstrate a firm philosophy and conviction, repeatedly engaging in opportunistic behavior by continuing to apologize for martial law and ignoring suspicions of election fraud. 

Jang Dong-hyuk was elected party leader as a political novice because he aligned with the stance of right-wing voters against the impeachment of President Yoon Suk-yeol and regarding suspicions of election fraud. Jang Dong-hyuk's support base is not opportunistic PPP lawmakers, but rather party members and right-wing voters. 

The majority of right-wing voters do not accept the impeachment of Yoon Suk-yeol led by the Democratic Party or the allegations of sedition stemming from the declaration of martial law on December 3rd. They expect the PPP to raise issues regarding suspicions of election fraud and improve the election system. This is why Jang Dong-hyuk became party leader. 

Those who sympathize with suspicions of election fraud exceed half of the overall public opinion poll figures, and this figure becomes overwhelmingly high among PPP supporters. However, Jang Dong-hyuk consistently feigns ignorance. 

During the Syngman Rhee administration, President Lee Jae-myung attended the commemoration of the March 15th Uprising against election fraud as a sitting president for the first time, vowing to complete democracy. Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party, despite being directly involved in suspicions of election fraud over the past 20 years, are acting with brazen audacity. 

The March 15th election fraud was a one-time incident and was not related to the presidential election in which Syngman Rhee was elected. It was a case of election fraud orchestrated by Lee Ki-poong of the ruling Liberal Party, who was falling behind the Democratic Party candidate in the separate vice-presidential election, not a matter that would determine the fate of the regime. 

Unlike the March 15th election fraud, which was Lee Ki-poong's personal wrongdoing, current suspicions of election fraud involve suspected interference by the Democratic Party, pro-North Korean leftists, North Korea, and China. The fact that this has continued for the past 20 years makes it a far more malicious and anti-national issue than the March 15th election fraud. 

Instead of the PPP launching a major campaign to investigate suspicions of election fraud on the occasion of the March 15th commemoration, Lee Jae-myung is opportunistically piggybacking on the issue. 

The reason for this comical situation is the existence of Jang Dong-hyuk and the PPP, who are indifferent to the struggles of many citizens to investigate suspicions of election fraud. 

The propaganda and incitement by pro-North Korean leftists have gone too far, claiming that President Syngman Rhee stepped down because he committed election fraud, despite having no connection to the March 15th election fraud. Syngman Rhee had no reason to commit election fraud, as he was the sole candidate after the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, Cho Pyong-ok, died during his campaign. 

The election fraud was orchestrated in the separate vice-presidential election, where Lee Ki-poong of Syngman Rhee's ruling Liberal Party was trailing the opposition candidate. There are no records or testimonies suggesting that Syngman Rhee was aware of the election fraud. 

Nevertheless, Syngman Rhee, as president, took command responsibility and voluntarily stepped down. His resignation due to election fraud, unrelated to him personally, is something to be evaluated, not criticized. 

Jang Dong-hyuk's Opportunistic Conduct Has Eroded Trust

Jang Dong-hyuk has lost the trust of right-wing voters due to his opportunistic conduct. Those who continue to support Jang Dong-hyuk do so because there is no alternative, and such lukewarm support is a fragile house of cards. 

Most PPP lawmakers are opportunists several steps above Jang Dong-hyuk, and there is no reason for them to follow a weaker opportunist like Jang Dong-hyuk as their leader. Jang Dong-hyuk must return to his original intentions and make decisions and take actions that meet the expectations of the party members and right-wing voters who elected him party leader. 

Instead of fighting against the opportunistic PPP lawmakers, Jang Dong-hyuk has no reason to exist as party leader by succumbing to their pressure and agreeing to sever ties with Yoon Suk-yeol. This is a betrayal of the party members and voters who made him their representative. 

If Jang Dong-hyuk finds it difficult to withstand the offensive from the Han Dong-hoon faction lawmakers demanding the severance of ties with Yoon Suk-yeol, the withdrawal of Han Dong-hoon's disciplinary action, and even the formation of an emergency committee, he should break through it with a party member vote. 

The PPP is not the property of opportunistic lawmakers self-serving and corrupt. The PPP is a party that carries out the mission of protecting the identity of the Republic of Korea based on liberal democracy and a market economy, and expelling pro-North Korean leftist anti-national forces, by reflecting the voices of party members and right-wing voters who support the PPP. It is not a tool to guarantee the privileges and comfortable lives of a handful of incompetent, ignorant, and opportunistic lawmakers who are parasitically attached to the PPP. 

The reason for the PPP's existence is to crush, through strong struggle, the schemes of the remnants of the pro-North Korean leftist National Liberation Party (Namro-dang) who are trying to destroy the Republic of Korea by undermining the separation of powers in the name of judicial reform and openly denying liberal democracy and a market economy by stating "there is no market without the government." It is also to build a prosperous and strong Republic of Korea with national stability amidst rapidly changing international affairs. 

When Jang Dong-hyuk shows determination and suppresses the incompetent and ignorant lawmakers of the Han Dong-hoon faction, even to the point of breaking with them, other opportunistic lawmakers will not be able to shake the strong leadership of Representative Jang Dong-hyuk. These are individuals who do not have the confidence to leave the PPP. They know they lack self-sufficiency outside the party. 

If Jang Dong-hyuk does not change his current opportunistic course and engage in a fierce battle with the vested interests within the party, he will lose the support of not only lawmakers but also party members and right-wing voters, and Jang Dong-hyuk's existence will vanish. 

Action must be taken while the support of party members and right-wing voters remains. Once the momentum fades, it cannot be done even if one wants to. Everything has its time, and if the opportunity is missed, it is gone. 

During the national sentiment surrounding President Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment trial, when over 40 PPP lawmakers gathered in front of the presidential residence in Hannam-dong to resist the prosecution's attempt to arrest the president and demonstrations against Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment swept across the nation, the approval ratings for Yoon Suk-yeol and the PPP approached 50%, and despite suspicions of election fraud, Kim Moon-soo, the PPP presidential candidate, received 41% of the vote. 

However, now, all PPP lawmakers, including the 40 who opposed Yoon Suk-yeol's impeachment, have declared a severance of ties with Yoon Suk-yeol through a general assembly of lawmakers. Most PPP lawmakers are opportunists who lack philosophy and conviction from the outset and prioritize their own interests over the safety of the nation and its people. 

Jang Dong-hyuk's mission, entrusted to him by party members and the public, and the reason he became party leader, is not to collude with them or succumb to them, but to control them and guide the PPP down the right path. 

Firm Philosophy and Conviction are Essential Qualities for a Leader

Opportunists ride the tide and attach themselves to the strong. The essential qualities for a leader are not to ride the tide, but to have a firm philosophy and conviction to pursue the greater good, even against the tide. 

Those who seek to follow the tide for their convenience are not qualified to be leaders. Leaders should create the tide and make others follow. If a tide is created, opportunists will follow again. 

Since becoming party leader, Jang Dong-hyuk has never shown the determination of "fighting to the death to live, fighting to live to die." He has only engaged in opportunistic wordplay, looking around and hedging his bets. This is why PPP lawmakers view Jang Dong-hyuk lightly and do not follow him. 

Jang Dong-hyuk himself is the reason for the lack of a Jang Dong-hyuk support base within the party; there should be no other reason sought. When Admiral Yi Sun-sin set sail for the Battle of Myeongnyang with 13 ships, his flagship led the charge against over 300 Japanese warships, and there were no soldiers following Yi Sun-sin. 

However, when Yi Sun-sin, with just his flagship, broke through dozens of Japanese ships before him and fought valiantly, beheading a Japanese admiral and displaying his head on the prow, the Japanese forces became disheartened, and Yi Sun-sin's subordinates, who had been watching from the rear, advanced with their ships. 

During President Park Chung-hee's May 16th Revolution, when 3,700 revolutionary soldiers were crossing the Han River Bridge, sentries blocked them and fired shots, causing the revolutionary army to falter and stop. However, when Park Chung-hee pushed forward through the hail of bullets and ordered the advance, the revolutionary army followed, and the sentries, intimidated by the revolutionary army's momentum, retreated. This is the image of a leader embodying "fighting to the death to live, fighting to live to die." 

If Jang Dong-hyuk had been in the place of Yi Sun-sin or Park Chung-hee, what would have been the outcome? Inheriting the cause of investigating suspicions of election fraud through martial law and eradicating anti-national forces from Yoon Suk-yeol, Jang Dong-hyuk's struggle with the determination of "fighting to the death to live, fighting to live to die" to protect the Republic of Korea from pro-North Korean leftists, even if he failed due to insufficient strength, would be far more meaningful and valuable for Jang Dong-hyuk personally and for the Republic of Korea than falling into ruin through opportunistic conduct. 

Even in defeat, Jang Dong-hyuk would have justification, and in the long term, he could solidify his position as a strong right-wing leader. Comparing Jang Dong-hyuk's current predicament with that of Yi Sun-sin and Park Chung-hee, which side faced a more difficult battle? 

The argument that Jang Dong-hyuk has no choice but to compromise due to a lack of support from PPP lawmakers is an excuse, and a leader who relies on such logic admits to being an incompetent opportunist. 

When he had no followers, Yi Sun-sin faced hundreds of Japanese ships alone, and when the revolutionary army stopped advancing due to the resistance of sentries firing shots at the Han River Bridge, Park Chung-hee advanced through the hail of bullets, making the revolutionary army follow him. This is something that must be remembered. 

◆ Hwang Doo-hyong 

Former Washington Correspondent for Yonhap News

Former Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Yonhap News