Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the People Power Party (PPP), marks his 426th day in office tomorrow, October 25, counting both his inauguration day and tomorrow. This surpasses the 425-day record set by former leader Lee Jun-seok.
He has now become the longest-serving party leader since the PPP was founded in September 2020. Former leader Kim Gi-hyeon served for 281 days, and former leader Han Dong-hoon served for 147 days.
How does his tenure compare when including the PPP's predecessor parties—the Grand National Party, the Saenuri Party, the Liberty Korea Party, and the United Future Party? Where does Jang's tenure rank among all conservative party leaders in history?
The SBS Fact Check team examined the record.
The starting point when the party ended its single-president system, where power was concentrated in one person, and established the current consensus-based leadership structure of "Representative Supreme Council Member (party leader)" was
May 2002
. This took place during the era of the predecessor Grand National Party.
Until then, the party had operated under a single-leadership system centered on a "party president" who exercised imperial authority, but strong demands emerged within the party for internal democratization and the abolition of the imperial presidency. Eventually, Lee Hoi-chang, then president of the Grand National Party, resigned from the post to run for president of South Korea, prompting revisions to the party constitution and regulations that abolished the party presidency and created a collective leadership system. At the national convention held in May of that year, lawmaker Suh Cheong-won was elected as the first "Representative Supreme Council Member."
Former lawmaker Suh Cheong-won, who was elected leader of the then Grand National Party in May 2002.
This analysis calculated the tenures of all party leaders since the current party leadership system began in May 2002.
The analysis also included chairs of emergency response committees, or interim leaders.
When a leadership vacancy occurs due to resignation or other reasons, an emergency response committee is established, and under Article 98 of the party constitution, its chair holds the same status and authority as a regular party leader. However, acting party leaders were excluded. Acting leaders serve merely as "temporary caretakers" who maintain party stability until a new official leader or emergency response committee chair is elected.
People Power Party website (History): www.peoplepowerparty.kr/about/history
Because media reports vary slightly regarding election and inauguration dates,
the dates listed in the history section of the People Power Party website were used as the benchmark
. Dates officially announced by the party itself were deemed the most accurate.
The results of the analysis are as follows:
As the party's name changed four times—from the Grand National Party to the Saenuri Party, the Liberty Korea Party, the United Future Party, and finally the People Power Party—there were a total of 33 party leaders and emergency committee chairs (including duplicate terms). This spans from former Grand National Party leader Suh Cheong-won in May 2002 to current leader Jang Dong-hyeok.
Their "average" tenure was calculated at 256 days, just over eight months.
Only three leaders successfully completed the full two-year term specified in the party constitution and regulations: former Grand National Party leaders Park Geun-hye and Kang Jae-sup, and former Saenuri Party leader Hwang Woo-yea. Most others stepped down prematurely amid accountability for election defeats or major scandals.
Based on this analysis, the leaders were ranked.
The top five comprises Hwang Woo-yea, Kang Jae-sup, and Park Geun-hye, who completed their two-year terms, followed by former Saenuri Party leader Kim Moo-sung and former Grand National Party leader Park Hee-tae.
Jang Dong-hyeok, who becomes the longest-serving leader of the PPP, ranks sixth overall behind them.
By November 1, Jang will also surpass former Grand National Party leader Park Hee-tae's 432 days to rise to fifth in history.
What, then, did the long-serving party leaders have in common?
First, notably, long tenures occurred during periods when internal unity and stability were crucial ahead of presidential elections.
Former Grand National Party leader Kang Jae-sup led the party for 724 days, and former Saenuri Party leader Hwang Woo-yea led for 730 days. Both shared the common trait of managing a massive political event—the presidential election—and winning it.
Kang managed the fierce rivalry between the Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye factions during the 2007 presidential primary. He mediated internal party conflict and laid the groundwork for a transition of power. Hwang likewise secured victory in the 2012 presidential election and was evaluated to have maintained relatively stable relations between the party and the presidential office even after the launch of the Park Geun-hye administration.
While those cases showed long leadership made possible by presidential election victories, conversely,
there were also instances where figures chosen as new rallying points during severe party crises ended up leading the party for extended periods
.
Former President Park Geun-hye personally carrying the Grand National Party signboard to a tent headquarters in March 2004.
A prime example is former President Park Geun-hye, then leader of the Grand National Party, who served for 698 days.
In 2004, when the party faced an existential crisis due to an illegal presidential campaign funds scandal and the backlash over the impeachment of former President Roh Moo-hyun, Park set out to overhaul the party under what became known as the "tent headquarters." She went on to lead the party to successive election victories, helping rebuild its collapsed base of support. This era earned her the moniker "Queen of Elections." Her political centripetal force in steering the party through crisis formed the background of her prolonged tenure.
The case of former leader Lee Jun-seok is similar. Lee, who led the party for 425 days, was the first party leader in South Korea's constitutional history in his 30s.
A sense of crisis within the conservative party, which desperately needed youth support to regain power, led to the election of a figure symbolizing generational change.
Lee achieved results as an election manager by leading the party to consecutive victories in the presidential and local elections. However, he was embroiled in fierce conflicts with the party's mainstream faction throughout his tenure and ultimately concluded his term facing an unprecedented suspension of party membership rights. Electoral triumph and internal strife coexisted throughout his leadership.
Former leader Lee Jun-seok waves the party flag at the national convention in June 2021 after being elected PPP leader.
Former Grand National Party leader Park Hee-tae also led the party for 432 days. It was a turbulent period in the early days of the Lee Myung-bak administration marked by candlelight protests against U.S. beef imports. Anchoring the ruling party and maintaining internal stability were paramount tasks.
Relatively long tenures were also seen during the period after former President Park Geun-hye's impeachment, when the conservative bloc suffered heavy blows. Former leader Hong Joon-pyo led the party for 347 days, and former leader Hwang Kyo-ahn led for 414 days.
Hong took on the role of rallying the traditional conservative base at a time when the party's very existence was in jeopardy.
Hwang also led the creation of the United Future Party amid fierce partisan confrontation over the Cho Kuk scandal.
However, neither was free from accountability for electoral defeats. Hong stepped down from the party leadership following a crushing defeat in the 2018 local elections, and Hwang likewise resigned after a landslide defeat in the 2020 general election.
Ultimately, a long tenure does not necessarily signify political success. Historical records show that political necessities and crisis situations interacted to allow party leaders to stay in power for extended periods.
The tenure of Leader Jang Dong-hyeok, who has risen to sixth place in history, can also be viewed in this context.
Jang took the helm of the party at a time when the conservative party was plunged into crisis following the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol and a presidential election defeat.
Winning the party membership vote to launch his leadership, he weathered multiple crises, including controversies surrounding the expulsion of former leader Han Dong-hoon and calls for resignation that surfaced after a defeat in local elections. In doing so, he set the record as the longest-serving leader since the PPP's establishment.
Maintaining internal party power and continuing his tenure amid shrinking party influence is certainly an achievement for Jang. However, retaining power within the party and expanding public support are two entirely different matters.
Approval ratings reveal this discrepancy.
According to Gallup Korea surveys, the PPP's approval rating hovered in the low-to-mid 20% range without significant gains following Jang's inauguration, and fluctuated in the high 20% range after the local elections.
Notably, the PPP failed to reap substantial reflective benefits from declining support for the Democratic Party.
This can also be interpreted to mean that rallying party members did not translate into broader public support.
Even though Jang succeeded in extending his tenure by maintaining his support base within the party, it also signifies that many challenges remain in expanding the party's outer appeal and regaining voters' trust.
A controversy over an audio recording containing verbal abuse has already erupted. Calls for leadership replacement are emerging almost daily. For the record of longest-serving leader to serve as evidence of political success, he clearly must prove political achievements that go beyond the "longest-serving" title going forward. A longer tenure does not automatically translate into proportionately greater political accomplishments.
(Writer: Kim Hyo-jin, Intern: Kim Jeong-won)
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