Both parties face leadership accountability questions after local elections

Questions over leadership accountability are emerging in both the ruling and opposition parties following the June 3 local elections. The Democratic Party of Korea, despite sweeping victories nationwide, failed to reclaim the Seoul mayoral seat — its most prized target — prompting calls within the party to hold leader Jung Chung-rae responsible and setting the stage for a factional clash over the next party leadership race.

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok, meanwhile, has now gone two days without publicly addressing his future amid mounting calls for his resignation from inside and outside the party following the PPP's defeat.

Within the Democratic Party, a narrative is gaining traction that the June 3 results amount to a failure — one focused on the political symbolism and damage of losing the Seoul mayoral race. Seoul is the bellwether of every election cycle, making the fallout unavoidable, party insiders said.

Lawmaker Yoon Jun-byeong wrote on Facebook on Thursday that "while the outward appearance of victory in the June 3 local elections is impressive, if the Democratic Party narrowly lost the Seoul mayoral race, it cannot be called a complete victory." Lawmaker Park Beom-gye said: "It may not be a defeat, but it is certainly a failure. Even though the overall results were good, it is embarrassing to call this a victory. It was something of a failed election. And yet there has been no word of even the slightest sense of responsibility."

Party leader Jung and his allies pushed back by emphasizing the broader electoral victory. At a press conference Thursday, Jung acknowledged that "it hurts not to have reclaimed Seoul," but declared the election a major win, saying he was "deeply grateful to the people who delivered a great victory to the Democratic Party across the country." Secretary-General Jo Seung-rae added: "The fact that there are regrets does not mean it was not a victory."

The factional divide over how to read the election results is expected to ignite the party convention now roughly two months away. Song Young-gil, a former party leader seen as Jung's main rival who won the Incheon Yeonsu-gap by-election, went on the offensive Wednesday in a radio interview, citing the controversy over the North Jeolla governor nomination and saying: "There is no need to debate leadership responsibility — the party convention is coming, and that is where the judgment will be rendered." Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, another leading contender for the party leadership, is widely expected to resign from his cabinet post soon and enter the race, which would push the battle over the party's power structure to its peak.

Amid the fallout, PPP leader Jang had no public schedule Friday but made an unannounced visit to a vote-counting center in Songpa-gu, Seoul — the facility where ballot boxes from the Jamsil 7-dong polling station were transferred after a ballot shortage controversy erupted there. The move suggested Jang intends to amplify the controversy surrounding the National Election Commission's handling of the ballot shortage rather than address questions about his own future.

On Thursday, Jang posted on Facebook that he would "not turn away from the heavy responsibility entrusted to me and will find a new path forward together with party members," signaling his intention to remain as party leader. He also offered a positive assessment despite the PPP losing eight incumbent regional government head seats, writing: "It was an election fought under every possible difficulty, but we kept the flame of hope alive."

Calls for Jang's resignation have nonetheless poured in since the election. Lawmakers' group messaging channels have also carried voices insisting that the leadership must bear responsibility for the defeat. Lawmaker Yoon Han-hong was quoted as saying: "Local election candidates suffered hardships they should not have had to endure because of the party's mistakes," adding that "if the party does not reform and restructure, the next election will be even harder." Lawmakers Han Ki-ho and Lee Yang-su also added weight to the accountability argument, invoking phrases such as "complete transformation" and "party before self," respectively.

Jang's fate is also tied to the upcoming floor leader election. Current floor leader Song Eon-seog's term expires June 15. Song said by phone that he must resign before his term ends and that the floor leader election "could take place around next week."

Should Jang step down, the new floor leader would likely also serve as emergency committee chair — a role that carries significant influence over the next party convention, including setting the primary election rules that will determine the next party leader.

Lawmakers Kim Do-eup, Seong Il-jong and Jeong Jeom-sik have been mentioned as potential floor leader candidates. Jeong said by phone Friday that he would "announce his position once the floor leader election is officially called."

Multiple PPP insiders said they do not expect Jang to relinquish the party leadership easily. One official said he would "keep fighting," while another said Jang could consider proposing a party member confidence vote or strategically resigning and then running again at the party convention.

If Jang refuses to step down voluntarily, there is also talk of neutralizing the supreme council. Under current party rules, if four or more elected supreme council members resign, the council is in effect paralyzed, enabling a transition to an emergency committee structure. For now, however, the only member seen as likely to resign immediately is Rep. Woo Jae-jun, an ally of former party leader Han Dong-hoon.