Ruling party elects Joo Ho-young as the new floor leader

Five-term legislator Joo Ho-young was elected as the new floor leader of the People Power Party on Monday. With this decision, the floor leader returned to the party’s leaders 24 days after the court granted an injunction for suspension regarding the system of Joo as the leader of the emergency committee.

Joo beat two-time legislator Lee Yong-ho and became the new floor leader by winning 61 votes from 106 legislators who voted at a general meeting of the party, which was held on Monday morning at the National Assembly. Lee won 42 votes.

After the meeting, the floor leader said to correspondents that the party should be stabilized first. He added that what’s second most important is to raise the party's approval rating by working with the vulnerable groups, resolving conflicts with the Honam region, encouraging young people’s participation in politics, and reducing the gap between the rich and the poor.

Some said that Lee did unexpectedly well in the vote between the two candidates, unlike the early expectation that Joo would receive the most votes. It seems that complaints accumulated within the party regarding the leadership close to President Yoon Suk-yeol came to the surface.

Joo will hold the position until April 8, 2023, when the remaining term of former Floor Leader Kwon Seong-dong is supposed to end.


Kyung-Suk Kang coolup@donga.com