Jang Dong-hyeok's Real 'Olgong' Politics

On the evening of Sunday, July 19, I visited Olympic Park in Jamsil, Seoul. It was the 47th day since the June 3 local elections. I wanted to see for myself who has been coming recently. Rally participants were gathered around the Handball Gymnasium at Olympic Park. They were mainly located in Sections 1-2, 1-3, and 2-1 of the arena.

The largest number of participants was in Section 1-3. Section 1-2 is an area with high foot traffic. It is where People Power Party (PPP) leader Jang Dong-hyeok comes every day to sit before leaving. A key feature of this spot is that crowds instantly gather when Representative Jang arrives. In addition, participants were spread across Section 2-1, the outer perimeter of the stadium, and bus rest areas. The number of volunteers is also considerable. Although it is impossible to count every single person, the on-site crowd observed firsthand over about two hours on the evening of July 19 was at least 5,000. Considering those who could not be observed directly during the same period, the actual figure could be much higher.

It should be taken into account that July 19 was a Sunday evening. Participation by office workers who had to go to work the next day was likely low. On the other hand, because Representative Jang designated Constitution Day on July 17 as "Olgong Day" and encouraged attendance, turnout might have been higher than usual.

  I have been to various rally sites before. But the Olympic Park rally is different. There is no leader. There is no one leading the chants. In other words, there is no "center." No stage is set up, and no one stands at the front holding a microphone.

Although there is no leader, the chant is consistent: "Rigged election, re-election, same-day voting, manual counting." Then, when someone in the crowd starts singing the first stanza of the national anthem, everyone sings along through all four stanzas. Afterward, they return to the chant: "Rigged election, re-election, same-day voting, manual counting." During the two hours on Sunday evening, the only other chant heard was "Eradicate Communism" ("Myeongong"). Even then, while someone shouted "Eradicate Communism," it was soon drowned out by the main chant.

Representative Jang Dong-hyeok also seems to have grasped these characteristics. On this day as well, I spotted Representative Jang visiting the rally site. He stayed exclusively in Section 1-2 before leaving. While Representative Jang occasionally held and waved a large Taegeukgi (Korean national flag), he chanted the exact same slogans as the participants. Although he might have tried changing the slogan to "Let's hold a special counsel," he refrained from chants that rally participants would not respond to. His so-called "drawing paper message politics"—which stirred controversy in political circles over referring to the president informally—appears to stem from this background. Representative Jang writes what he wants to say on drawing paper and displays it as a written message rather than shouting it as a chant.

Although there are voices of criticism from both inside and outside the party regarding the main opposition leader's continued attendance at street rallies, Representative Jang appears to be trying to build an image of himself as one of the attendees rather than someone taking a leading role. Perhaps because of this, when he first began attending the rallies, he did not include rally attendance in his public schedule as party leader at all. Simply put, he framed it as a personal, unofficial activity rather than a move as party leader.

Recently, however, he began attending rallies not only at Songpa Olympic Park but also in Incheon and other regions. Around this time, rally attendance started to be included in official schedule announcements for the party leader. What began as a personal, unofficial activity has now transformed into an official move by the party leader.

An opposition leader participating in street rallies—and doing so daily for an unprecedentedly extended period—inevitably faces fundamental criticism from inside and outside the party that "the leader of a political party responsible for representative democracy has abandoned that responsibility, even though social conflicts and problems should be resolved through parliamentary politics." Nevertheless, Representative Jang has actively taken steps to turn "Olgong" into one of his political assets, prompting curiosity about what at "Olgong" is driving him to act this way.

  The Olympic Park rally is often described as a "leaderless rally." In technical terms, it is "The Anonymous Collective." Literally, it means an anonymous crowd. Its main characteristic is shapelessness. There is no leader, no membership fee, and no platform. Members are not specified. Being open to everyone is another key feature. Conversely, anyone can leave whenever they wish. They simply share a common goal or aversion. These features of "The Anonymous Collective" align with what was directly observed at the Olympic Park rally site.

There is also a point that does not match the characteristics of an anonymous collective: geographic location. An anonymous collective is not restricted by location. Conversely, the Olympic Park rally site is limited to the area in front of the Handball Gymnasium. This is because it carries great symbolic significance as the place where ballot boxes were located. The Olympic Park rally site can be considered a unique manifestation of "The Anonymous Collective" in South Korea.

  More than 40 days have passed since the ballot paper shortage occurred. Some describe these rally-goers as "far-right." Of course, there may be ideologically far-right participants. However, unless one interviews rally participants individually or conducts group interviews, grouping their overall orientation into a single label appeared difficult. This is even more so because it is a leaderless rally. Definitions of "far-right" also vary from person to person. From their shared chants, one can only infer that they share a common goal: the so-called "restoration of voting rights through a re-election."

What was confirmed on site is that at least they do not shout "I am far-right" or "I am Yoon Again." There is only "Rigged election, re-election, same-day voting, manual counting." While participants may harbour specific ideological inclinations in their hearts, unless multiple people express them publicly at the same time, no basis was found to conclude that the group as a whole is far-right.

There is also aversion caused by the phrase "rigged election" among the participants' chants. This is because claims of rigged elections have been equated with baseless conspiracy theories. However, the term "rigged election" used at this site sounded as though it also encompassed the concept of a botched election triggered by the recent ballot paper shortage. Their notion of "unrigged/improper" (不正) literally means "not right" in its dictionary definition. Expressed in full, their logic is: "Since it was an improper election, a re-election must be held."

  Observing the site that day, I personally confirmed the presence of many people in their 20s and 30s. Some were rally participants, while others had come to volunteer. However, on that Sunday evening, the number of young people in their 20s and 30s appeared to fall short of a majority. It felt like people in their 20s and 30s accounted for about 40% of the crowd on site. The remainder was predominantly made up of participants in their 60s and 70s.

This brought to mind the "generational coalition theory" (or "generational encirclement theory") mentioned by Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok when he was leader of the People Power Party. It meant that to win elections, the young demographic in their 20s and 30s and the elderly demographic, traditional supporters of the PPP, must unite. Can Olympic Park right now truly be called a venue where such a phenomenon is being manifested? Did Representative Jang view it as such?
  Since the ballot paper shortage occurred on June 3 of last month, People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok has been visiting Olympic Park every day unless special circumstances arise. His cause was a special counsel investigation into the NEC. Making the passage of the NEC special counsel bill his top priority, Representative Jang argued that while young people in their 20s and 30s are outraged by the ballot shortage, it would be embarrassing if the opposition leader could not pass a single special counsel bill.

The PPP cannot pass the NEC special counsel bill alone because it falls far short of seats. Consent from the ruling Democratic Party is essential. The party must negotiate with the Democratic Party. Those close to Representative Jang argued that for Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sig to gain an upper hand in negotiations with the ruling party, outrage among people in their 20s and 30s must be sustained. Their rationale was that only when young people speak up and public sentiment among 20-and-30-somethings simmers will the Democratic Party move, which explained why Representative Jang went to Olympic Park every day despite criticism from inside and outside the party over his street politics.

Representative Jang's decision to skip the Constitution Day ceremony held at the National Assembly on July 17 to plan "Olgong Day", as well as his plans to attend rallies to defend voting rights in Daegu following those in Incheon, Busan, Gwangju, and southern Gyeonggi Province, appear to stem from the same perspective. After concluding the Daegu rally, Representative Jang reportedly plans to organize "Olgong Day Season 2," similar to the Constitution Day rally. This seems to be a calculation to drive issues outside parliament on his own strength, even without support from his party's lawmakers.

  However, yesterday (July 21), the Democratic Party and the People Power Party reached a tentative agreement on the NEC special counsel bill. The core is "bipartisan agreement." A public recommendation committee will be formed to recommend candidates for special counsel, and out of the six candidates recommended by the committee, the ruling and opposition parties will agree on two. The president will then appoint one of those two. Since it requires bipartisan agreement, only candidates agreed upon by both the Democratic Party and the People Power Party can make it into the final two. This effectively reduces the possibility of a biased figure being included in the pair. This approach serves as a compromise between the third-party recommendation method proposed by the Democratic Party and the opposition recommendation method urged by the PPP. Representative Jang had previously told those around him that a method where both parties agree on a candidate was worth considering. However, Representative Jang reportedly expressed some reservations about the agreement during a closed-door general meeting of lawmakers, pointing out issues such as the failure to specify the scope of the investigation.

For now, Representative Jang's side sees clear benefits in the fact that both parties agreed to process the NEC special counsel bill. The passage of the special counsel bill is a tangible achievement, and there is a narrative through which credit could fall to Representative Jang. The internal logic operates as: "Thanks to the party leader attending rally sites every day, the issue was not buried, making it possible to argue that the special counsel bill was passed." Independent of external criticism, the argument that "Jang Dong-hyeok successfully preempted the NEC issue and ultimately performed well" could gain traction. Likely reflecting this internal assessment, Representative Jang reportedly intends to continue attending Olympic Park rallies for the time being, despite the bipartisan agreement on processing the bill.

On the other hand, with the bipartisan agreement on the NEC special counsel bill, a key justification underlying Representative Jang's "Olgong politics" has disappeared. Furthermore, if the special counsel bill passes, a process to persuade party members and supporters regarding the content of the agreement will be necessary. Some hardline party members are already dissatisfied with the agreement, and if their backlash continues, Representative Jang, who has drawn support from them, will have to take personal responsibility.

Above all, if he intends to keep participating in street rallies, finding an objective justification may become even harder without resetting his rationale and goals. Some predict he might set abolishing early voting as a new goal—given that one of the chants at Olympic Park emphasizes same-day voting—and continue street politics. Conversely, if his goals remain unclear, scolding and criticism asking what the party leader is doing wandering around outside parliament could grow even stronger, and calls for his resignation that were painstakingly quieted could resurface at any moment.

  Recently, there have been subtle differences in tone between Representative Jang Dong-hyeok and Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sig. While some suggest this indicates friction between the party's two top figures, Representative Jang's side asserts that trust has not cracked and that their bond, built during their time on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee in the 21st National Assembly, is stronger than thought. They contend that while Floor Leader Jeong directed negotiations on the NEC special counsel bill inside parliament, Representative Jang provided rear support from outside. Representative Jang even remarked, "My job is to provide rear support so 'Brother Jeom-sik' can conduct negotiations with the ruling party effectively inside parliament." Lawmaker Kim Min-jeon recently commented in a group Telegram chat room for lawmakers: "Representative Jang is rallying the youth in their 10s, 20s, and 30s as well as activist party members, while Floor Leader Jeong is rallying the establishment and supporters who value institutional politics." However, critics dismiss such interpretations as self-serving explanations meant to conceal inevitable divisions caused by internal line struggles within the party.

  Representative Jang has been on trial ever since becoming party leader. Each time, he handled situations in ways never seen before in Yeouido, drawing starkly divided assessments even within the party—ranging from "he made matters worse" to "no, he actually broke through the impasse." When demands to sever ties with former President Yoon Suk Yeol poured in, he held out until the last moment without letting the word "severance" cross his lips. When calls for his resignation emerged, he fought back with a 24-hour filibuster, a hunger strike, and street politics. When media outlets rained concentrated fire criticizing his moves as party leader, he used hardline conservative YouTubers as his bodyguards. When senior lawmakers called for unity through "additive politics," he counterattacked by emphasizing party discipline and the need to penalize those committing harmful party acts. When the issue of independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon rejoining the party was raised, he flatly declared it absolutely out of the question. Now, he is displaying a new tactical move through "Olgong politics"—will this become a "new normal" brought about by a conservative party leader unlike any seen before? Calls within the People Power Party for the leader's resignation have somewhat entered a lull. Although the possibility of his resignation around February next year is still raised, Representative Jang has no intention of resigning. Representative Jang's remaining official term runs through August next year. More than a year still remains.
 
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.