Seoul and Busan Mayoral Nominations, Party Charter Amendment and Verification Committee Formation Immediately After Weekend Party Member Voting
[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Choi In-ho, the chief spokesperson of the Democratic Party of Korea, explained the reason for deciding the nomination of the Seoul and Busan mayoral candidates through a weekend vote by party members as "the voting results of party members were almost similar to the public opinion poll results of the general public," aiming to guarantee citizens' (party and candidate) right to choose.
On the morning of the 30th, Chief Spokesperson Choi appeared on MBC Radio and explained the reason for deciding the nomination of the Seoul and Busan mayoral candidates through a vote by party members: "One of the biggest reasons for conducting a vote among all party members was to directly ask the party members, whose opinions were almost similar to the public opinion, about how we should fulfill our responsibilities, whether we should nominate a candidate or not."
Chief Spokesperson Choi said, "Looking at the results of the party convention, the voting results of party members were almost similar to the public opinion polls of the general public," and explained, "From the citizens' perspective, as the ruling party, if we do not nominate a candidate, wouldn't there be restrictions on their right to choose? This consideration greatly influenced the decision." He added, "Even if there are faults within our party, it is a more responsible attitude to be judged by the citizens with better policies and better candidates, and this was the decision made by the party leader."
However, when asked whether he is confident in the election of the Democratic Party candidates for the Seoul and Busan mayoral races, he avoided a direct answer by saying, "The priority and prerequisite is to go through a strict verification process for the candidates."
Regarding the future schedule, he said, "About 800,000 party members will vote this weekend, and the results are expected late Sunday night," adding, "The party constitution amendment will be made with the approval of more than half of the voters. Next week, the party affairs committee will be held, followed by the central committee to finalize the amendment. Once the amendment is completed, the formation and installation of the Public Office Candidate Verification Committee will begin immediately." He continued, "Full-scale election preparation and primary preparation will be arranged in November," and explained, "From December 7, the preliminary candidate registration with the National Election Commission will begin."
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