The Koreas | Politics | East Asia

PPP’s Chief Holds Meetings in Washington While His Party Faces Ruin at Home

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok’s Washington trip reveals more about his internal survival strategy than any genuine foreign policy agenda.

PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok arrives in the U.S. capital of Washington, D.C. on Apr. 11, 2026.

Jang Dong-hyeok, the leader of South Korea’s main opposition People Power Party (PPP), arrived in the U.S. capital city of Washington D.C. on April 11 for a week-long trip. On April 15, Jang said that during his visit thus far he had met with officials from the White House’s National Security Council, and the U.S. State Department to exchange views on the Middle East conflict and South Korea-U.S. security and economic cooperation. During his press briefing for correspondents in Washington, Jang said the meetings addressed how the United States intends to prosecute the ongoing conflict and what posture it plans to take on North Korea and China in the aftermath.

The official framing from the PPP is straightforward: Jang responded to requests from Washington officials and think tanks who wanted to hear from him. The PPP pointed to meetings with the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) and the Heritage Foundation, both closely aligned with the Trump administration’s policy agenda. He also met with Republican Congressman Darrell Issa, known for his sharp criticism of the South Korean government’s handling of the Coupang data breach, as well as with Republican and Democratic senators including Andy Kim and Mark Kelly.

However, analysts zeroed in on his meeting with Joe Gruters – the current chairman of the Republican National Committee and one of Washington’s most prominent champions of restrictive voting measures. Gruters has led aggressive litigation to curtail mail-in ballot deadlines, arguing the measures are essential to “election integrity.” His ascent to the RNC chairmanship in August 2025 – backed personally by President Donald Trump – has made him a central figure in the American right’s ongoing campaign to question the legitimacy of electoral processes it dislikes. That Jang chose to meet with Gruters is not, analysts suggest, incidental.

The backdrop matters enormously. South Korea’s June 3 local elections are now less than two months away, and every major poll points toward a Democratic Party landslide. According to a Realmeter survey conducted between April 6 and 10 on behalf of the Energy Economy Daily, South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s job approval rating stands at 61.9 percent, versus with 32.8 percent disapproval. Party support figures from the same polling firm show the Democratic Party at 50.6 percent nationally versus the PPP’s 30.0 percent. For the local elections, regional polling may be more instructive. In Seoul, Democrats lead 50.5 to 30.1 percent; in the Incheon-Gyeonggi region, 55.9 to 24.6 percent. Even in Busan and the traditional conservative heartland of the southeast, the Democratic Party is within striking distance.

Most strikingly, the PPP appears to be in danger of losing Daegu – a city that has never in its history elected a Democratic mayor. Daegu has long been considered the ideological bedrock of South Korean conservatism. Yet a Hankuk Gallup survey conducted last week showed former Prime Minister Kim Bu-gyeom, the Democratic Party candidate, leading all PPP contenders in head-to-head matchups, with a more than 50 percent favorability rating. Should Kim win Daegu, it would represent not merely an electoral upset but a structural realignment of South Korean regional politics. That said, the historical voting behavior in Daegu – where polls have repeatedly underestimated conservative turnout – could still produce a different result on election day, particularly if the conservative vote consolidates behind a single candidate.

The local elections, arriving almost exactly one year into Lee’s term, function in South Korean political tradition........

© The Diplomat