Sangmin Lee: "Up to 35% Point Deduction Rule for Senior Lawmakers... Multiple-Term Members Must Endure for Fair Primaries"

"To Support Political Newcomers... This Level of Measures Is Necessary"

Lee Sang-min, a five-term lawmaker who left the Democratic Party and joined the People Power Party, commented on the seniority penalty nomination rule, saying, "(It is) something that multi-term lawmakers have to endure to some extent, as it is meant to encourage the enthusiasm of (political) newcomers to challenge." Earlier, the People Power Party's Nomination Management Committee finalized a nomination rule that applies a penalty of up to 35% of the primary vote share if a three-term incumbent falls within the bottom 10% to 30% in the regional evaluation.

On the 18th, Lee appeared on KBS Radio's 'Jeonggyeok Sisa' and said, "There will definitely be dissatisfaction among the multi-term lawmakers about receiving a certain penalty," but emphasized, "However, to attract newcomers and to ensure that the newcomers feel that the competition was fair enough through rotation with them, this level of measure is necessary."

Lee Sang-min, a member of the National Assembly who left the Democratic Party and joined the People Power Party, is wearing a red scarf after finishing a press conference at the Daejeon City Council in Seo-gu, Daejeon on the afternoon of the 10th. Photo by Yonhap News

Regarding the adjustment of the primary vote reflection ratio from the original 50% party members and 50% general public to 80% general public in regions where the party's influence is relatively weak, such as the metropolitan area and Chungcheong region, he evaluated it as "reasonable." Lee said, "In areas considered weak for the People Power Party, the sampling of party members is inevitably limited," adding, "In any case, it must reflect public sentiment and have competitiveness in the general election. From that perspective, lowering the proportion of party members and increasing the proportion of public sentiment seems reasonable."

Regarding the People Power Party's recruited talents, including Lee Soo-jung, a professor of criminal psychology at Kyonggi University, demanding an apology from Mrs. Kim Geon-hee related to the 'Kim Geon-hee risk,' Lee said, "If there is something to apologize to the public regardless of the general election strategy, it should naturally be done, and it is a separate matter," pointing out, "This should not be approached as a strategy or tactic to raise party support."

He added, "There is a strong sentiment for regime checks, so President Yoon Seok-yeol and the government should adopt a more humble, gentle, and warm attitude toward the people," and "Although the People Power Party is the ruling party, if it does not blindly defend President Yoon or the government but reflects public sentiment to some extent and plays a checking role, the party's approval rating will be much higher than now."