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PPP leader candidates Kim Moon-soo, Ahn Cheol-soo, Jang Dong-hyuk, and Cho Kyung-tae were confirmed on August 7 to advance to the main round of the party’s leadership race, set for August 22. / Source: Yonhap News

The People Power Party (PPP) has confirmed its four finalists for the August 22 leadership election: Kim Moon-soo, Ahn Cheol-soo, Jang Dong-hyuk, and Cho Kyung-tae (in alphabetical order). The results have solidified a “two-to-two” split between candidates favoring former President Yoon Suk-yeol’s impeachment (“pro-impeachment”) and those opposing it (“anti-impeachment”).

In a preliminary race decided by a mix of 50% party member votes and 50% public polling with safeguards against cross-voting, pro-impeachment contenders Ahn and Cho advanced alongside anti-impeachment rivals Kim and Jang. First-term lawmaker Joo Jin-woo, who campaigned on a moderate platform, failed to make the cut, hampered by low name recognition. The race for Supreme Council members was narrowed to eight candidates, while the four contenders for the youth leadership post will proceed directly to the main round without a preliminary vote.

The split is already shaping the tone of the campaign. Pro-impeachment candidates are emphasizing a hardline stance against the administration. Kim, appearing on a conservative talk show, declared, “Our main enemy at home is Lee Jae-myung, and across the peninsula, it’s Kim Jong-un,” adding that he would welcome Yoon back into the party if the former president requested to rejoin. Jang, his anti-impeachment counterpart, is appealing to the party’s core base with an even stronger conservative identity, a strategy fueled by the PPP’s stagnant approval ratings in the 10% range. With party members accounting for 80% of the final vote, all candidates are expected to court the party’s hardline supporters.

Meanwhile, Ahn campaigned in Daegu, a conservative stronghold, aiming to capture the decisive Daegu–North Gyeongsang (TK) bloc, which makes up about 22% of the PPP’s 700,000 voting members. Cho, visiting Ulsan, urged the party to break with Yoon’s loyalists and unite reform-minded forces.

The four finalists will participate in joint rallies and televised debates in Daegu–North Gyeongsang on August 8, Busan–Ulsan–South Gyeongsang on August 12, the Chungcheong and Honam regions on August 13, and the Seoul metropolitan area–Gangwon–Jeju on August 14.