Democratic Party's Jeon Jae-su "Presidential Primary Postponement Should Be Considered... Need to Review Competitors' Situations"

Jeon Jae-su, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Jeon Jae-soo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, argued that "the Democratic Party should seriously consider postponing the presidential primary."

On the 6th, through Facebook, Rep. Jeon stated, "This is not a tiresome debate from the perspective of a specific candidate or faction, but from the standpoint of the Democratic Party's ruling strategy for continuous reform and the people's livelihood, we must seriously consider postponing the Democratic Party presidential primary."

This raised uncomfortable voices from the camp of Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, who is leading in various opinion polls.

The justification for the postponement claim is COVID-19. Rep. Jeon said, "The Democratic Party's presidential candidate should be a candidate of party members and one who receives broad support from the people," adding, "The people have been fighting a war against the coronavirus for over a year. They are exhausted and struggling. In this situation, if the Democratic Party proceeds with the presidential primary, it will become a league only for the Democratic Party."

He continued, "It ignores the suffering of the people. It is not respectful to the people."

Rep. Jeon said, "At least when more than 30 million of our people have been vaccinated and herd immunity is within sight, it will not be too late to hold the presidential primary with the interest and participation of many people."

He also pointed out strategic aspects. Rep. Jeon stated, "Elections are competitions with opponents. It is natural to observe and consider the situation of competing opponents," and evaluated, "In the recent Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections, the People Power Party already overwhelmed the Democratic Party in the candidate selection process."

He added, "The presidential primary is no different. We will face an embarrassing situation where we have to just watch the dynamic candidate selection process conducted by the People Power Party, which will have already finalized its presidential candidate 180 days before the election."