Park Geun-hye urges People Power Party to unite behind leadership

Former President Park Geun-hye said Thursday that the People Power Party must close ranks around its leadership in difficult times and urged the leadership to stay attuned to the public's will.

Park made the remarks at the 2026 PPP lawmakers' retreat held at Sono Calm in Ilsan, Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, saying she hoped the gathering would deepen the sense of fellowship among party members.

Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok and floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik greeted Park on arrival, held a roughly 20-minute meeting with her and then appeared together at the retreat. Her attendance came in response to a personal invitation Jeong extended when he visited Park on Aug. 19.

"If the nest breaks, the eggs inside cannot survive intact," Park said. "If the nest that is the party is shaken and broken, your futures will be the same."

"The smaller the minority, the more it must stick together," she added. "If you are already struggling against a majority and then fracture as well, the outcome of that fight is a foregone conclusion. When fighting enemies outside, there is no enemy more dangerous than division within."

Park said that while a range of views can emerge within a party, members must not come to hate or deny one another. She said national security and people's livelihoods are what citizens are most worried about right now.

On security, she said there can be no partisan divide. "What impressed me about the United States is that, whatever their fights, it is a country where there are no ruling and opposition parties when it comes to national security," she said.

She said North Korea has enshrined a two-state theory in its constitution, declared South Korea a hostile state and is effectively seeking recognition as a nuclear power, adding that Pyongyang has continued its show of force — including a ballistic missile launch into the East Sea just days ago. "The more critical the situation, the more the People Power Party, as a conservative party, must approach national security with a greater sense of responsibility than even the government or the ruling party," she said.

Park also said trust is the most important thing in politics. "Not just in politics — nothing in this world works without a foundation of trust," she said. "The best approach, whatever you do, is to do it with genuine sincerity for the people."

She warned that if the party gives up before trying, saying it can do nothing as a minority opposition, the public will give up on it too. "The hardships you are facing now are part of the process of building strength to do great things for the people and the country," she said.