As a so-called "birthday-based voting strategy" spreads among supporters of the pro-Chung (pro-Jung Chung-rae) faction ahead of the Democratic Party's Aug. 17 national convention, Hwang Myung-sun, a Supreme Council member belonging to the pro-Lee (pro-Lee Jae-myung) faction, has publicly criticized it as "blatant private-clique politics and an act that undermines party members' sovereignty."
Hwang made the remarks at a Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 20th. "Some candidates are reportedly encouraging votes based on birthdays. Is this something that can happen in the Democratic Party?" he said.
"In past national conventions, candidates have never once carried out such organized vote-mobilization targeting party members so blatantly," he said. "This cannot escape criticism as private-clique politics driven by self-interest."
"The very idea of dividing up votes as if distributing them by birthday is behavior that treats party members as numbers of votes rather than as sovereign holders," he said. "How lightly are they treating party members? Stop this shameful private-clique politics immediately and apologize to party members."
Recently, promotional materials have been shared in some party member communities and on social media, calling for members to choose Jung Chung-rae as the party leader candidate and then vote for Supreme Council candidates in different combinations depending on the member's birth month. The method divides party members by birth month to distribute votes among pro-Chung faction Supreme Council candidates. In political circles, this is interpreted as a strategy to raise the chances of pro-Chung faction candidates passing the preliminary round.
Regarding this, Jung appeared on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus of Attention" that day and said, "This has always happened before." He explained, "I understand the other side does the same, and party members voluntarily devise their own strategies."
Hwang also called for a review of the controversy over the increase in Supreme Council candidate deposits. "I too have raised the opinion at Supreme Council meetings that the deposit is too high," he said. "During leader Lee Jae-myung's tenure, the deposit was lowered, but this time it suddenly rose, making it a decision that undermines the purpose of the public election financing system."
He stressed, "Candidates should not be screened out with money under the pretext of preventing an excess of candidates. The party's election management committee should return the deposit to its previous level and open the door wide to all candidates, including young people, who wish to have the opportunity to devote themselves to the party."
