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Yang Kyung-kyu, a former lawmaker, has been elected as the new leader of the Justice Party. He won the party leadership election held on the 29th with an overwhelming 94.7% of the votes. The election was conducted by combining online voting and ARS voting, with 3,724 out of 9,738 eligible voters participating, resulting in a turnout of 38.2%.
The new leader, Yang Kyung-kyu, is a labor activist who has served as the vice-chairman of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, the chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry's labor union, and the first vice-chairman of the Democratic Labor Party. He has experience in legislative activities, having served for about four months in the 21st National Assembly after inheriting a proportional representative seat in January 2024.
In his acceptance speech, Yang stated, "I will not just maintain the Justice Party but will start anew from the Justice Party," expressing his commitment to building a larger and new popular progressive party. He emphasized the need to create new agendas for progressive politics that align with the changed times and mentioned that he would rekindle the spirit he had when he first embarked on the path of progressive parties 30 years ago. Yang's first official activity will begin with a visit to the Morang Park in Masan on the morning of the 31st, and the official inauguration ceremony is scheduled for the 2nd of next month.