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The Democratic Party of Korea has decided to pursue a revision of party rules to introduce a preferential voting system in its party leader election. Although a dramatic conclusion was reached, the confrontation among the "pro-Jung (pro-Jung Chung-rae) faction," the "pro-Seok (pro-Kim Min-seok) faction," and the "pro-Song (pro-Song Young-gil) faction" appears to be spreading further. Supreme Council member Lee Sung-yun, a leading figure of the pro-Jung faction, declared his resignation from the Supreme Council, while pro-Seok Supreme Council member Kang Deuk-gu directly criticized, saying, "Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae's one year has been a year of non-communication."
Kang Jun-hyun, chief spokesperson of the Democratic Party, said after a closed-door Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly on the 14th, "We sought to revise the party rules to minimize controversy over regulations regarding the selection of leadership," adding, "We codified that preferential voting and runoff voting can be used as methods of conducting a runoff." This resolution was passed only through verbal consent asking for opinions, without a separate vote.
In preferential voting, voters rank all the candidates who have entered the race by 1st to 3rd place, and if no candidate wins a majority, the lowest-ranking candidate is excluded except for the top two, and the second choices of voters who ranked that candidate first are added together to determine the final winner. The pro-Jung faction had opposed the introduction, arguing that the preferential voting system does not conform to party regulations. The preferential voting system is set to be applied starting from this August 17 party convention.
Pro-Jung faction lawmakers made their opposition clear. Supreme Council member Lee Sung-yun declared his resignation from the Supreme Council, saying, "I cannot participate in the vote." Leaving his seat while the Supreme Council meeting was in progress, he said, "With only a month left until the party convention, and only a week left until candidate registration for party leader, I raised objections and opposed pushing through a matter that violates the party constitution and rules," adding, "But the (Supreme Council) made a decision to submit it, saying violation of the party constitution and rules is not allowed, and it is unacceptable that it is not being improved."
Supreme Council members Park Gyu-hwan, Moon Jung-bok, and Park Ji-won also expressed their displeasure, saying, "For the sake of the Democratic Party, which faces a thousand-foot cliff, we set aside our convictions for a moment." Park Gyu-hwan said, "I cannot understand why they are pushing through a specific voting method so much in violation of the party constitution and rules," adding, "It is difficult to accept the reality of being forced into minority rule, without even the basic principle that a majority vote should be followed when unanimous agreement is not reached."
However, Supreme Council member Park emphasized, "But because we cannot bring to a halt the Democratic Party, which must run and run tirelessly for the success of the Lee Jae-myung administration, we must prevent catastrophe." He continued, "I feel I understand the heart of the real mother in the Judgment of Solomon, who had no choice but to give up her rights because she loved and had to save her child," adding, "In accordance with President Lee Jae-myung's plea not to wage war but to compete, and the spirit of putting the party before oneself that has run through Jung Chung-rae's one year of leadership, we have decided to give up the rights of the majority and accept the will of the minority." Park also said, "I hope our party member comrades will put an end to all this absurdity."
On the other hand, Supreme Council members Kang Deuk-gu and Hwang Myung-seon expressed great anger, pointing to the pro-Jung faction lawmakers. Hwang said, "Preferential voting was a matter resolved last year under party leader Lee Jae-myung's leadership," pointing out, "Is it the duty of a Supreme Council member to say it was right then but wrong now, holding back the party and making the people anxious?"
Supreme Council member Kang also raised the level of his offensive over Jung Chung-rae's one year of leadership, saying, "It was a party centered on the party leader, not a party centered on the members." He said, "Former leader Jung talks about party member sovereignty, but from by-elections to strategic nominations, he decided everything himself without a single consultation (with the Supreme Council)," pointing out, "There is no communication. It was a year of non-communication." He added, "I too became a Supreme Council member because party members elected me, but former leader Jung is someone who thoroughly ignores that. I am scared and afraid of former leader Jung becoming party leader again."
Meanwhile, the proposal to introduce a "youth Supreme Council member" system, which would separate one of the five elected Supreme Council members as a youth quota and elect them separately, was rejected at the Supreme Council. The youth Supreme Council member issue was also a matter on which the pro-Jung faction and the pro-Lee faction differed, and as a result, the position of the pro-Jung faction, which opposed the introduction citing regulation violations, was reflected. Pro-Lee faction Supreme Council member Hwang Myung-seon met with reporters and raised his voice, saying, "The introduction of a youth Supreme Council member is not a privilege but the future of the Democratic Party, the future of politics, and the spirit of the times," adding, "All the Supreme Council members who rejected (the introduction of the system) should resign."
The agenda items resolved at the Supreme Council are set to be tabled at the Party Affairs Committee at 4 p.m. that afternoon. The rejected youth Supreme Council member system is expected to be referred back to the party's convention preparation committee for reconsideration.
