Rebuilding Korea Party elects Shin Chang-sik as new leader

Rep. Shin Chang-sik was elected the new leader of the Rebuilding Korea Party on Saturday, and he vowed to position the party as a reformist pillar while preparing for the 2028 general election.

Shin won 96.7 percent of support in a yes-no vote at the party’s 2026 national convention at the Suwon Convention Center in Suwon, Gyeonggi, on Saturday.

“I will pursue a clear path of reform,” he said during his policy speech. “Only when we establish two strong pillars — centrism and pragmatism on one side and clear reform on the other — can popular sovereignty succeed.”

“I will also open a path toward a strong foundation of self-reliance, as we can build proper alliances only through self-reliance,” he added.

Former party leader Cho Kuk also addressed the party in a prerecorded video, during which he warned that the country’s political landscape was shifting “dangerously to the right” and urged members to stay committed to reform.

“The principles of reform have begun to waver, as the confusion within the ruling party over prosecutorial reform shows,” Cho said.

“I hope that the Rebuilding Korea Party will develop and practice progressive futurism, which looks beyond the weather of a single day and anticipates the climate of an era,” he continued. “Please steadily strengthen the party’s capabilities and prepare for the 2028 general election.”

Cho remains involved with the Rebuilding Korea Party but stepped down as leader after taking responsibility for its defeat in the by-election in Pyeongtaek in June. His resignation prompted efforts to reorganize the party’s leadership structure.

Rep. Cha Gyu-geun and former Secretary General Hwang Hyun-sun were also elected as Supreme Council members at the convention.

The party’s new leadership will consist of five members: Shin, floor leader Kim Joon-hyung, Supreme Council members Cha and Hwang and one appointed Supreme Council member.

BY LIM JEONG-WON [[email protected]]