How PPP chair fell into online radicalization pipeline: Kakaotalk group chat reveals how Jang Dong-hyeok became MAGA

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk held a press conference at the National Assembly on February 20, 2026, and stated, “The People Power Party has consistently clarified its position that martial law is not in itself insurrection.” Although the first-trial ruling issued on February 19 recognized former President Yoon Suk Yeol, described as the “leader of an insurrection,” as having committed insurrection through the December 3 martial law declaration and sentenced him to life imprisonment, Jang continued to refuse to sever ties with Yoon. Accordingly, on February 21, twenty-five current and former local party chairpersons of the People Power Party issued a critical statement saying, “For the future of the party, the leader must stop further regression and make an immediate decision.” In response, criticism toward these twenty-five individuals flooded a KakaoTalk group chat room composed of supporters advocating that Yoon Suk Yeol should become president again, known as the “Yoon Again” faction.

Participants in the “Yoon Again” group chat also discussed leaving protest comments on the Facebook pages of the twenty-five individuals. When Hankyoreh21 visited the Facebook accounts of the twenty-five, some had more than 100 critical comments posted. Requests for disciplinary action also became reality. On February 24, the Association of Extra-Parliamentary Party Chairpersons decided to file complaints against the twenty-five individuals with the party’s Ethics Committee.

This scene shows that opinion within the “Yoon Again” group chat is closely influencing the decision of the People Power Party leadership under Jang Dong-hyuk to proceed with local elections without severing ties with Yoon Suk Yeol. Accordingly, Hankyoreh21 collected and archived all 242,939 messages posted in the “Yoon Again” group chat over seven months—from July 27, 2025, to February 24, 2026—in order to trace what correlation exists between their messages and decision-making within the People Power Party.

As a result of extracting the 100 most frequently mentioned words during those seven months, “Yoon Suk Yeol” was mentioned the most with 30,506 occurrences, followed by “enlightenment” with 10,386 mentions and “election fraud” with 2,222 mentions. Support for Yoon Suk Yeol, defense of martial law, and election-fraud claims constituted the main conversation topics within the chat room. Words related to anti-China sentiment such as “China” (12,114 mentions), “Chinese” (9,236), and “Chinese people” (2,602) also accounted for a high proportion. Seo Bok-kyung, head of the The Possible Institute, analyzed that the “Yoon Again” system was constructed through the combination of election-fraud conspiracy theories and anti-China discourse, creating points of organizational connection through Telegram and group chats and forming online bases on that foundation.

The “Yoon Again” faction did not unconditionally defend the People Power Party leadership under Jang Dong-hyuk. When apologies were made regarding martial law, they launched attacks; when martial law was defended, they offered protection. Jang himself, who recently became controversial for refusing to sever ties with Yoon Suk Yeol, had been a target of their attacks one month earlier. The trigger was remarks made on January 7, 2026. On that day, Jang stated, “The emergency martial law declared on December 3, 2024, was an inappropriate and mistaken measure,” and apologized regarding martial law. The group chat reacted intensely. The number of messages posted that day reached 6,662—six times higher than the seven-month daily average of 1,141 messages.

One month earlier still, on December 3, 2025—the first anniversary of Yoon Suk Yeol’s December 3 martial law declaration—the opposite situation occurred. On that day Jang refused to apologize, stating that the emergency martial law had been declared to counter legislative tyranny. Meanwhile, floor leader Song Eon-seok said, “I sincerely apologize.” The chat room recorded 2,326 messages that day, twice the average, most expressing support for Jang Dong-hyuk’s refusal to apologize.

Thus, the repeated pattern of criticism and support by the “Yoon Again” faction depending on whether Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law was defended has become a reason why the People Power Party leadership finds it difficult to sever ties with Yoon. Eom Kyung-young, director of the Zeitgeist Institute, stated, “The degree of party control exercised by the ‘Yoon Again’ faction is stronger than ever,” adding that Jang has effectively been captured by the group.

The “Yoon Again” group chat concentrates its attacks on voices criticizing Yoon Suk Yeol or martial law, thereby suffocating intra-party democracy. Several politicians who argued that political separation from Yoon was necessary became targets of attack.

In particular, attacks against former party leader Han Dong-hoon, who supported Yoon Suk Yeol’s impeachment, were intense. Over seven months, messages mentioning “Han Dong-hoon” totaled 1,006, comparable to mentions of Jang Dong-hyuk (1,407) and senior adviser Kim Moon-soo (997), most of them critical. Han was expelled from the party in January 2026 after allegations that he and his family posted criticisms of Yoon on the party member bulletin board; however, messages calling to “push Han Dong-hoon out” had continuously appeared in the chat room since December 2025. At key moments—including December 30 when the party inspection committee referred allegations to the Ethics Committee, January 14 when the Ethics Committee expelled him overnight, and January 29 when the Supreme Council finalized the expulsion—the chat room was filled with messages such as “Han Dong-hoon Out.”

Participants also actively demanded disciplinary action against figures classified as aligned with Han, including lawmaker Bae Hyun-jin and former Supreme Council member Kim Jong-hyuk. Messages such as “Sign disciplinary petition against Bae Hyun-jin” (January 17), “Send Bae Hyun-jin to the North with Han Dong-hoon” (January 19), and “Kim Jong-hyuk is an internal saboteur” (January 8) were identified. Both politicians were eventually disciplined.

When Supreme Council member Yang Hyang-ja opposed Jang Dong-hyuk’s pledge on August 28, 2025, to visit imprisoned Yoon Suk Yeol, discussion immediately arose in the chat room about organizing a rally demanding her expulsion. Similar criticism emerged toward Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon after he repeatedly expressed the need to politically distance from Yoon.

Criticism has also emerged that the People Power Party leadership is using this situation to maintain party leadership power. Political science professor Ji Byeong-geun stated that those holding party leadership positions are thoroughly utilizing the “Yoon Again” faction and that Jang believes he received Yoon Suk Yeol’s support in becoming party leader, with the faction forming the background to that support. Ji added that if Jang were to abandon the “Yoon Again” faction immediately, he would lose the forces protecting him, effectively assigning the group a role similar to a political enforcement corps.

The People Power Party has even promoted policies aligned with the preferences of the “Yoon Again” supporters. On October 10, 2025, it announced plans to pursue as party policy the so-called “Three Anti-Shopping Laws,” restricting Chinese nationals’ access to healthcare, voting rights, and real estate, based on claims that Chinese nationals excessively enjoy such benefits in Korea—claims that multiple fact-checks have shown to be largely inaccurate or exaggerated.

Supporters in the “Yoon Again” chat rooms were also deeply involved in discussions surrounding these bills. When the party advanced the legislation as official policy, at least 239 notices urging passage of the bills were posted in the chat rooms. Professor Kim Yoon-cheol of Kyung Hee University stated that the growing influence reflects how anti-China rhetoric combined with racism has enabled the faction to seize initiative within the party and increasingly affect real institutional politics.

Political commentator Kim Soo-min stated that in order to win local elections candidates must first secure party nominations, and there is effectively no way for opposing factions to overcome the organized and vocal pro-Yoon base. Professor Moon Woo-jin of Ajou University likewise stated that the “Yoon Again” faction will likely determine many local election candidates and concluded that the People Power Party appears to be heading toward collective political collapse.