The Democratic Party of Korea's Convention Preparation Committee said Wednesday that its national primary schedule, which places the Chungcheong region first, will proceed "as decided for now," amid controversy within the party.
Rep. Lee Yeon-hee, a member of the committee, gave the response to reporters at the National Assembly after a closed-door second meeting held that day, when asked whether there was room for the regional primary schedule to change. "We will have to see the final judgment of the leadership and whether there are differences of opinion among them," Lee said. "We are proceeding as decided at the committee level."
On May 30, at its first meeting, the committee announced a primary schedule proceeding in the following order: South Chungcheong, North Chungcheong, Daejeon and Sejong on Aug. 1; Ulsan, Busan and South Gyeongsang on Aug. 2; Jeju and Incheon on Aug. 8; Gangwon, Daegu and North Gyeongsang on Aug. 9; North Jeolla, Gwangju and South Jeolla on Aug. 15; and Gyeonggi and Seoul on Aug. 16.
The camps of former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and Rep. Song Young-gil, both considered contenders for party leadership, reportedly objected, arguing that the schedule favors former party leader Jeong Cheong-rae because the Chungcheong region is his hometown.
While the "one delegate or eligible member, one vote" system is being introduced for the first time in this convention, discussion on regional and age-based weighting had been expected, but Lee said, "We did not discuss it today."
The party constitution stipulates implementing the one-person, one-vote system while placing weighting on strategic regions. "There is debate over what criteria to use to designate strategic regions," Lee said. "We expect to be able to decide in the second week of July."
Earlier, Kim and Song had raised concerns about the one-person, one-vote system, which had been a key pledge of Jeong. Last month, Kim said, "Member sovereignty, one-person one-vote, and a complete primary could, in the worst case, turn the party into a cooperative-chairman party."
Song also argued last month for the need to supplement the one-person, one-vote system, saying, "If it becomes centered on those in their 40s and 50s and men in their 60s, and on certain regions, the party's outreach will be limited, so such supplementation is needed."
In response to these concerns, Jeong left a message on Facebook on May 30, saying, "Who is tackling the one-person, one-vote system? Don't shake the one-person, one-vote system!"
