Democrats Pass Party Charter Amendment to Reduce Delegate System... Will Factional Conflict Intensify?

Final Approval of Central Committee Party Charter Amendment... 67.5% in Favor
Increasing the Value of Rights Party Members' Votes... Strengthening Incumbent Penalties
Byeonggye Faction "Party Mainstream Monopoly"... Expectation of Intensified Factional Conflict

On the 7th, the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) finalized the amendment to the party constitution at the Central Committee meeting, increasing the weight of votes from party members with full rights. Alongside this, an amendment strengthening penalties against incumbent lawmakers in the upcoming primary elections ahead of next year's general election was also confirmed. As these proposals, which had faced strong opposition mainly from the non-mainstream faction, were approved, internal conflicts within the party are expected to intensify ahead of the general election.

The DPK held the Central Committee meeting at the National Assembly on the same day and passed the party constitution amendment. Byun Jae-il, Chair of the DPK Central Committee, stated, "Out of a total of 605 central committee members, 490 participated in the vote, accounting for 80.99% turnout. The results were 331 in favor (67.55%) and 159 against (32.45%), so since the majority of the total central committee members approved, the first agenda item, the party constitution amendment, was passed."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, Hong Ik-pyo, floor leader, and Chung Cheong-rae, Supreme Council member, are applauding at the Central Committee meeting held at the National Assembly Library on the 7th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The approved amendment increases the value of votes from party members with full rights by more than three times compared to the current system, while reducing the proportion of delegate votes reflected in the party convention that elects the party leader and supreme council members. Additionally, the penalty rate for vote deduction in primaries for incumbent lawmakers who rank in the bottom 10% in the 'elected official evaluation' for next year's general election was increased from the current 20% to 30%. Both proposals had passed the party affairs committee on the 27th of last month and were finalized with the Central Committee's approval on this day.

Party leader Lee Jae-myung said before the vote, "We must move toward a democratic party where the will of the party members is more reflected in the party," adding, "We attempted to amend the party constitution to guarantee vote equivalence between delegates and party members with full rights." According to the current regulations, votes are reflected at a ratio of 30% delegates, 40% party members with full rights, 25% the public, and 5% general party members. The amendment sets the combined ratio of the public and general party members at 30%, and delegates and party members with full rights at 70%, lowering the value of one delegate vote from about 60 party member votes to around 20.

Some within the party, including the non-mainstream faction, oppose this amendment, arguing that the pro-Lee faction, which currently dominates the party mainstream, intends to disadvantage the non-mainstream in candidate nominations and monopolize the next leadership. They criticized the increase in the value of votes from party members with full rights, who are mainly the hardline supporters known as 'Gaeddal.' On the same day, Rep. Lee Won-wook criticized during the Central Committee's open debate, saying, "It is very questionable who the public really is from the perspective of the public's expectations that Leader Lee talks about."

Representative Lee Jae-myung, Floor Leader Hong Ik-pyo, and other members of the Democratic Party of Korea are shouting slogans condemning the administration at the Central Committee meeting held at the National Assembly Library on the 7th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Furthermore, the vote was conducted by bundling the two proposals into a single yes-or-no question, which sparked controversy over a 'trick.' Secretary-General Jo Jeong-sik, speaking to reporters immediately after the vote count, said, "Since these are amendments to the same party constitution, conducting the vote at once is a normal process," adding, "There have been cases where proposals were separated depending on the situation, but this time, both were handled together following standard procedures."

When asked whether bundling the vote, despite opposition to reducing the delegate system and support for the incumbent penalty rule, effectively led to a forced approval, Jo dismissed the claim, saying, "I believe the central committee members understood the content of both matters and made a comprehensive judgment." Regarding a question about why the vote was not separated in May, he said, "In the past, amendments to the same party constitution were handled together."

Regarding Park Hong-bae, Chair of the DPK National Labor Committee, who hinted at breaking the policy alliance in protest of the approved proposals, when asked if the party leadership would have any supplementary measures, he responded, "We fully understand the concerns about the reduced weight of delegate votes," adding, "I think we can create supplementary measures where necessary through future dialogue and discussion."