[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] As the April 15 general election approaches, the Democratic Party of Korea is accelerating its recruitment of talented individuals, raising growing interest in how these talents will be utilized in the election.
According to the Democratic Party on the 26th, starting with the recruitment of Professor Choi Hye-young, a former ballerina and spinal cord injury patient, as the first recruit on the 26th of last month, a total of 12 individuals have been recruited over the past month.
Since they were recruited ahead of the general election, their candidacies are virtually confirmed. However, whether they will run in constituencies or be placed on proportional representation lists has not yet been decided. Previously, the party stated, "When recruiting talents, we did not pre-assign specific positions. We plan to comprehensively review how each talent can best contribute to the country," showing a cautious stance regarding the utilization of these talents in the election.
Comparing the 10 talents recruited by the Democratic Party as of the 19th with the 20th National Assembly, the average age of the 10 is 42.6 years, which is 12.9 years younger than the 20th National Assembly's average age of 55.5 years. Given the Democratic Party's current policy of actively targeting the youth vote, the prevailing view is that these recruited talents will likely be fielded in constituencies, where they have more opportunities to engage directly with voters, rather than being confined to the limited scope of proportional representation.
Additionally, the revision of the Public Official Election Act, which has narrowed the Democratic Party's chances of winning proportional representation seats, and the increasing number of incumbent lawmakers announcing they will not run, also support this view.
Currently, the Democratic Party leadership is reportedly coordinating with some of the recruited talents regarding their candidacies in constituencies. In particular, Won Jong-geon, the party's second recruit, decided to run in a constituency first after consultations with the party leadership. Regarding his decision to run in a constituency, Won said, "It is to break the two stereotypes that 'because I am young, I can't' and 'because I have nothing, I can't.' I don't mind if it's a difficult district or even more challenging. I will confidently compete with the vigor of youth in the region."
It is expected that a rough outline of how to utilize the recruited talents will emerge after the Lunar New Year holiday. However, a Democratic Party official said, "Not only do we need to analyze which constituencies are favorable to the youth, but we also need to consider various factors such as whether to make strategic nominations or hold primaries, so it will take some time to decide on candidacies."
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