Democrats Empower 'Youth and Women'... "Priority Nominations in Strategic Areas"

Democratic Party General Election Planning Team 4th Meeting Briefing
"Strengthening Priority for Youth and Women in Nomination Review and Primaries"
"Full Exemption of Primary Costs... Expansion from 20s to 30s"

The Democratic Party of Korea is considering prioritizing nominations in strategic districts to expand the participation of political newcomers such as youth and women ahead of next year's general election. In particular, they plan to fully waive primary election fees for the 2030 generation.

Han Byung-do, the secretary of the Democratic Party's General Election Planning Group and strategic planning committee chairman, told reporters after the Supreme Council meeting on the 29th, "We have decided to propose prioritizing nominations for youth and women in strategic districts, including constituencies where incumbents are not running." He added, "We will propose to comply with the party constitution's '30% nomination obligation for women in constituencies' and strengthen preferential treatment for youth and women during nomination screening and primaries."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 29th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Chairman Han explained, "Primaries will be the principle for districts where young candidates run, and when youth and women candidates compete with political newcomers, the additional points for political newcomers will be limited to 10% instead of 20%." He especially noted, "We will waive primary election fees for the 2030 generation," adding, "This includes waiving nomination screening registration fees, deposits to the Nomination Management Committee, and the Election Commission." Initially, the Democratic Party fully waived registration fees and deposits for candidates in their 20s and waived 50% for those in their 30s. This time, the exemption will be expanded to fully cover the entire 2030 generation.

When asked about discussions on 'senior lawmakers running in difficult districts or retiring,' Chairman Han said, "We are discussing various current issues," and added, "If there are proposals on contentious matters such as 'increasing the deduction rate for lower-ranked incumbent lawmakers,' we will discuss all of them."

Additionally, through the operation of the Youth and Women Election Support Group, the party will provide election consulting and support for youth and women candidates' election preparations. They also plan to establish a Future Agenda Support Preparation Committee to prepare for issues such as artificial intelligence (AI), low birth rates, and basic income. Furthermore, they intend to reflect strengthened 'gender sensitivity' during candidate nomination screenings.