People Power Party
The People Power Party is a conservative and right-wing populist political party in South Korea. It is the second-largest party in the National Assembly. The PPP, along with its historic rival the Democratic Party, make up the two largest political parties in South Korea.
The PPP was founded as the United Future Party on 17 February 2020 through the merger of the Liberty Korea Party, New Conservative Party, and Onward for Future 4.0, as well as several minor parties and political organizations. It contested the 2020 legislative election together with its satellite party, the Future Korea Party; the alliance achieved the worst conservative result since 1960. The party renamed to the People Power Party on 31 August 2020. It achieved electoral success in the 2021 by-elections. In 2022, PPP presidential candidate Yoon Suk Yeol was elected as the president of South Korea, followed by PPP victories in the 2022 local elections. Due to the unpopularity of the Yoon administration, the party lost the 2024 legislative election. Yoon declared martial law in December 2024, prompting his impeachment. In 2025, PPP candidate Kim Moon-soo lost the presidential election to Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae Myung, returning PPP to the opposition.
The PPP is generally seen as right-wing and conservative. It supports economic liberalism and fiscal conservatism, and has been described as socially conservative, hostile towards feminism and communism. It favors strengthening South Korea's alliance with the United States, as well as improving relations with Japan. The PPP takes a hawkish stance towards North Korea, as well as an ambigious stance on relations with China.
History
Background
Due to the political scandal in 2016, President Park Geun-hye was impeached, and several members of parliament quit the then-ruling Liberty Korea Party to form the Bareun Party. Following the impeachment of Park on 10 March 2017, the LKP de jure lost its ruling party position. After the Democratic presidential candidate Moon Jae-in was elected on 9 May, the LKP officially became the main opposition. Although several Bareun MPs returned to the LKP, the party did not fully recover, losing ground in the 2018 local elections. The LKP president, Hong Joon-pyo, resigned to take responsibility for the defeat. The Bareunmirae Party, formed from a merger between the Bareun Party and the smaller, centrist People's Party, also faced a defeat in the 2018 local elections.The two conservative parties held snap leadership elections. On 2 September 2018, the Bareunmirae Party elected Sohn Hak-kyu as its new president. On 27 February 2019, the Liberty Korea Party elected former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn as its new leader. Lee Un-ju, a Bareunmirae MP, quit her party and was widely expected to join the LKP, but formed a new party named Onward for Future 4.0. With the exit of the Bareunmirae Party's President Sohn, other former Bareunmirae MPs faced conflicts and founded the New Conservative Party. As a "conservative union", the Liberty Korea Party, Onward for Future 4.0, and the New Conservative Party agreed to merge and establish a new party.
The new party's name was initially set as the Grand Unified New Party, but soon changed to United Future Party. Park Heong-joon, who led the merger and re-foundation, explained that the name shows support for youths and political solidarity.
Founding congress
Following the merger and re-foundation of the three conservative parties into the United Future Party on 17 February 2020, it elected the Liberty Korea Party's President Hwang Kyo-ahn as the president. Though much of the UFP's leadership resembles that of the LKP, Vice Presidents Won Hee-ryong and Kim Young-hwan are not from the LKP.South Korean President Moon Jae-in and the Democratic Party Leader Lee Hae-chan congratulated the new party's founding, but the move was not welcomed by other members. Some sources reported that the party was planning to file a lawsuit against Moon. Yoo Seong-min, the former Bareunmirae president, did not attend the founding congress. Yoo Young-ha, who is in support of Park Geun-hye, exited the LKP before the formation of the new party.
2020–2021
The party contested the 2020 elections with its sister satellite party, the Future Korea Party. However, some UFP candidates, such as Cha Myong-jin and Kim Dae-ho, provoked controversies for defamatory remarks. The party was defeated in the election with some of the worst results historically for a conservative party in South Korea. The UFP won 103 out of 300 seats in the National Assembly, slightly over one-third of the seats. The party lost several key figures, including Oh Se-hoon, Na Kyung-won, Shim Jae-chul, and Kim Jin-tae. Party Leader Hwang Kyo-ahn, who contested for Jongno, was defeated by former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon.After the election, Hwang announced that he would stand down as the party president. Following Hwang's resignation, it was reported that the party would temporarily establish the Emergency Planning Committee, led by Kim Chong-in. Several members, such as, disagreed with the establishment of the committee. Hong Jun-pyo, who showed an intention to return to the UFP, also opposed the proposal and revealed Kim's past corruption allegations.
On 8 May, Joo Ho-young was elected the UFP's Floor Leader, automatically becoming the party's interim Leader. On 22 May, the party held an election to nominate Kim Chong-in as the interim President until the next by-elections on 7 April 2021, which he accepted. The same day, the FKP announced its merger by 29 May. On 28 May, both the UFP and FKP officially declared their merger as the unified UFP.
On 13 August, Realmeter had revealed an opinion poll showing that the party has gained more supporters than the ruling Democratic Party. This was the first time that a conservative party gained more support than a liberal party since the political scandal of regarding President Park Geun-hye in October 2016.
On 31 August, the party decided to change its name to the People Power. The party requested that the name be changed to the National Election Commission. It has been argued that the new proposed name was similar to the minor centrist People Party of Ahn Cheol-soo. There were speculations that the party was willing to form an electoral alliance with the People Party in the 2021 by-elections. Jung Chung-rae, an MP of the Democratic Party, criticised the name for being too similar to a civic organisation established in 2003, where he used to serve as the first co-president.
On 2 September, the party officially changed its name to the People Power Party, its current name. The PPP declared that it would be a centrist and pragmatic party. On 14 September, the party revealed its logo and its 3 colors—red, yellow, and blue, based on temporary decisions. These colors were officially confirmed on 23 September, although yellow was replaced with white.
On 17 September, Kweon Seong-dong, the MP for Gangneung, officially returned to the PPP, leading the party to have 104 seats. He left the party before the 2020 elections, where he ran as an independent candidate. The PPP's total seats were reverted to 103 after, the MP for Boeun-Okcheon-Yeongdong-Goesan, quit the party on 23 September following corruption allegations. He denied all allegations related to him and his family. On 22 December,, the MP for Suyeong, quit the party following corruption allegations against himself and his father. On 7 January 2021,, the MP for Pohang South-Ulleung, withdrew from the PPP due to a controversy related to sexual harassment. The same day, Kim Tae-ho, the former Governor of South Gyeongsang and the incumbent MP for Sancheong-Hamyang-Geochang-Hapcheon, officially rejoined the party.
2021 by-elections
Before the 2021 by-elections, the party elected the former Mayor of Seoul Oh Se-hoon as its Seoul mayoral candidate, as well as the former MP for Suyeong, Park Heong-joon as its Busan mayoral candidate on 4 March 2021. In the by-elections on 7 April, the party achieved an outright victory due the Moon government's low popularity, with both Oh and Park being elected by a large margin. Oh Se-hoon, who formerly stepped down as the Mayor of Seoul in 2011, defeated the Democratic candidate Park Young-sun and successfully came back to the position. Park Hyung-joon also defeated the Democratic candidate Kim Young-choon and was elected the Mayor of Busan, despite his several controversies, such as Haeundae LCT The Sharp. The same day, the MP for Gimcheon, faced public backlash after it was reported that he was cursing and assaulting office workers. He quit the party on 14 April.Opposition (2021–2022)
On 8 April 2021, Joo Ho-young returned as the interim President of the party. He announced his intention to resign as the parliamentary leader on 16 April, adding that he would not serve until his term finishes on 29 May, but instead, until a new person is elected. The same day, the party declared that they will continue the processes to merge the minor People Party. On 30 April, the former Mayor of Ulsan Kim Gi-hyeon was elected the new parliamentary leader of the party, defeating, Kweon Seong-dong, and Yu Eui-dong. He served as the acting party President until the leadership election that was held on 11 June.On 21 May, Kim Byong-wook, who quit the party in January following a sexual harassment controversy, officially returned to the PPP. On 11 June, Lee Jun-seok was elected the new President of the party, defeating Na Kyung-won and others. On 24 June, the party approved an independent MP Hong Joon-pyo's bid to rejoin. On 15 July, Choi Jae-hyung, one of the potential candidate for the 2022 presidential election, officially joined the party. On 30 July, the former Prosecutor General Yoon Suk Yeol, who was also the most favorable candidate for the 2020 presidential election, officially joined the party. On 5 August, Yoon Sang-hyun, the MP for Incheon East-Michuhol 2nd, rejoined the party, and therefore all 4 PPP-friendly independent MPs successfully returned.