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People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk (right) speaks at a supreme council meeting on Nov. 13. / Source: Song Ui-joo

People Power Party (PPP) leader Jang Dong-hyuk has repeatedly raised the prospect of impeaching President Lee Jae-myung at official events and outdoor rallies, taking an increasingly hard-line stance. But within the party, many are distancing themselves from the idea, citing questions of feasibility and fears of a backlash from the public. Political analysts say Jang’s remarks are aimed squarely at energizing the party’s hardline base.

According to political observers on Thursday, Jang has invoked impeachment whenever controversies involving the government or ruling party emerged, including the prosecution’s decision to drop its appeal in the Daejang-dong case. At a rally at the National Assembly the previous day, he omitted the presidential title and declared, “Let’s unite and fight until the day we impeach Lee Jae-myung.”

But even as Jang escalates his rhetoric, the mood inside the party is far more cautious. Many argue that discussing impeachment less than a year into a president’s term is premature. PPP lawmaker Kim Yong-tae said on YTN Radio’s The Interview with Kim Young-soo that while he agreed the situation was serious, “carelessly throwing around impeachment is not good for the national interest.”

Among party leadership, only Supreme Council member Kim Min-su has publicly echoed Jang’s calls. He recently claimed in a leadership meeting that “Korea’s rule of law is collapsing under legislation that tramples the judicial system” and that “Lee Jae-myung must be impeached.”

Outside analysts say the impeachment argument lacks political reality. Under the Constitution, an impeachment motion requires signatures from a majority of all lawmakers and approval by two-thirds of the Assembly (200 votes). With the PPP holding just 107 seats—barely half that threshold—the scenario is viewed as virtually impossible.

Former PPP emergency committee chair Kim Chong-in said on CBS Radio’s Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show, “You can’t impeach a president with 107 seats. It’s a political slogan, nothing more.”

Many also see Jang’s remarks as a strategic message aimed at the party’s base. Political commentator Park Sang-byeong said, “It’s a move fixated solely on party sentiment,” describing the approach as a “don’t-think-just-attack-Lee-Jae-myung tactic.”

The Democratic Party strongly denounced Jang’s comments, calling them a refusal to accept the presidential election outcome. Moon Jin-seok, the party’s deputy floor leader for operations, told MBC Radio’s Kim Jong-bae’s Focus, “Dragging an unrelated president into this to argue for impeachment is purely political theater,” adding, “This is not only a denial of democracy but a negation of the Constitution.”