Conservative street right - winger dilemma

koreaherald.com · Feb 15, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

Full Article

Hard-liners aligned with Yoon constitute a key support base for the party Supporters of former President Yoon Suk Yeol protest outside a detention center in Gyeonggi Province on Aug. 1, 2025, as a special counsel team moves to execute an arrest warrant against him. (Lee Sang-sub/The Korea Herald) South Korea’s main opposition People Power Party is facing a deepening dilemma over whether to sever ties with former President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached and removed from office over his martial law declaration on Dec. 3, 2024.The conservative party has been weighing its stance for months amid mounting calls to draw a clear line with Yoon. Critics say maintaining visible ties with the disgraced president could bolster the ruling Democratic Party’s argument that the bloc remains associated with “insurrection forces," ahead of the June 3 local elections.The pressure has intensified as a series of special counsel probes targeting Yoon and his aides gather pace.Although party leader Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok and other officials have issued public apologies over the martial law episode, they stopped short of offering a direct personal break with Yoon — a stance that continues to draw internal and external criticism.In a YouTube interview with local daily Munhwa Ilbo on Feb. 10, Jang was asked whether rejecting cooperation with pro-Yoon supporters was the party’s official position. Jang did not give a clear answer but said his stance had not changed.“I have made my position clear on all the issues now under debate — martial law, impeachment and severing ties with Yoon — even before the party convention,” he said.Jang stressed electoral strategy over factional alignment ahead of the June elections.“To win elections, we must confront the Lee Jae Myung government while presenting future agendas in a capable manner,” he said, adding that he had expressed his position “in the best way possible within the language available to a party leader.”The hesitation largely reflects the party’s political calculus.Yoon continues to command a loyal base, even as he is detained on insurrection-related charges and awaits a first-trial verdict scheduled for Feb. 19.According to a local poll conducted Feb. 7-9 on 1,015 adults, 58.2 percent of respondents said the People Power Party should cut ties with Yoon if he is found guilty, while 26.1 percent said such a move would be unnecessary.While more respondents supported severing ties than maintaining them across all age groups and regions, voters aged 70 or older and those in the Daegu-North Gyeongsang region — traditionally key conservative bases — only narrowly supported a break, at 58.1 percent and 49.3 percent, respectively.Analysts say the continued loyalty toward Yoon among hard-line conservative supporters reflects deeply rooted perceptions that extend beyond the martial law controversy itself.Political commentator Choi Yo-han said many within the conservative grassroots interpret the party’s loss of power and subsequent investigations involving Yoon through a “political persecution” frame rather than a legal one.“Among hard-line supporters, the issue is less about the legality of martial law and more about the belief that a conservative presidency was forcibly removed,” Choi said.A study by the East Asia Institute in Seoul also found that hard-line conservatives were significantly more likely to view the martial law declaration as justified, while moderates and centrists largely rejected such views.“The martial law declaration was the sole countermeasure against the then opposition Democratic Party-controlled National Assembly,” said a pro-Yoon supporter rallying under the slogan “Yoon Again,” surnamed Park, who is in his mid-30s and asked to be identified only by his family name.Many pro-Yoon supporters like Park claim the Democratic Party obstructed state affairs through repeated vetoes of the former president’s agenda, while some have also raised allegations of election fraud linked to the party’s parliamentary dominance.Those “Yoon Again” factions — often described as “street right-wing” activists — have continued outdoor protests since Yoon’s removal from office, including after the Constitutional Court upheld his impeachment on April 4, 2025.Against this backdrop, the People Power Party — which saw its approval ratings plunge in the aftermath of the martial law crisis — elected Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok as party leader in August.Observers say the party may struggle to make a clean break regardless.“If the party intended to sever ties with Yoon, it should have done so during the impeachment phase,” said political commentator Jang Seong-cheol. “Instead, a leadership backed by hard-line supporters took power, showing the expanded influence of that base.”Jang added that the party is likely to maintain its current ambiguity through the local elections rather than risk alienating core supporters.Another commentator, Park Sang-byung, also questioned the leadership’s credibility.“Messages from the leadership now lack trust because they shift according to political calculations,” Park said. “It’s the result of chameleon-style politics. Once public trust is lost, even correct statements carry little weight.” flylikekite@heraldcorp.com