Jang vows all-member vote over confidence challenge

Feb 06, 2026, 07:33 am

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People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk delivers opening remarks at a Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on Wednesday. / Lee Byung-hwa

Jang Dong-hyuk said Wednesday that if calls for his resignation or a confidence vote continue through Thursday, he will initiate a partywide vote of all members—and step down from both the party leadership and his parliamentary seat if members approve.

Speaking to reporters at the National Assembly, Jang said, “If anyone demands my resignation or a confidence vote by tomorrow, I will ask party members for their decision through an all-member vote. If their will is for my resignation or a confidence vote, I will step down as party leader and also resign as a lawmaker.”

He added that those making such demands should also bear corresponding political responsibility. “If anyone is willing to stake their own political future to demand my resignation or a confidence vote by tomorrow, I will immediately proceed with an all-member ballot,” he said, reiterating his stance.

Jang stressed that the party leader is a position chosen by members. “Lightly calling for a leader’s resignation or confidence vote is inappropriate, and a leader stepping aside lightly also runs counter to the will of party members,” he said. “Demands for resignation or confidence are not a challenge to the leader’s leadership but a challenge to party members.”

Targeting pro-Han factions and younger lawmakers, Jang criticized what he called repeated attempts to shake the leadership. “Under the banner of ‘young lawmakers,’ or sometimes ‘reform’ and ‘innovation,’ they have too easily undermined the leadership of party leaders and floor leaders whenever issues arose,” he said, likening the party to “a ship that repeatedly founders in small waves and winds before leaders can complete their terms.”

“For the health of our party, such behavior is not appropriate,” he added. “Politics is not about words alone; taking responsibility for what one says is what truly defines young, reformist, or innovative politicians.”

Jang also pushed back against demands tied to recent decisions by the party’s audit and ethics bodies. “It is not right to place all responsibility on the party leader and demand resignation or a confidence vote over decisions made by the Supreme Council—the party’s highest decision-making body—through the free judgment of its members,” he said, adding that he has already stated the ultimate truth will be determined through investigations.

#Jang Dong-hyuk #People Power Party #confidence vote #party members vote