Kim Young-joo, Park Yong-jin, Yoon Young-chan... Opposition to Low Ratings
Lee Jae-myung "Innovative Nominations, Stop Dividing"
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed his determination to continue with the reshuffling nominations despite the 'Sacheon' controversy.
On the afternoon of the 20th, Lee Jae-myung stated on Facebook, "If I had subjectively given scores, Deputy Speaker Kim Young-joo would certainly have received a good evaluation," but added, "However, the Democratic Party operates as a system-based party, and it is impossible for personal feelings or close relationships to influence the evaluation of elected officials." This is interpreted as a subtle distancing from Deputy Speaker Kim, who declared his resignation from the party in protest of the bottom 20% evaluation results announced the previous day.
Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung adjusts his glasses while attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 19th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
Lee said, "According to principles and evaluation criteria, the comprehensive results are derived from evaluations by a dozen or so judges, public opinion, peer evaluations, and party member assessments," adding, "Innovative nominations are an unavoidable, literally painful process of shedding old skin." He further emphasized his commitment to reshuffling by saying, "Just as old leaves must fall for new shoots to grow, and the first branch must yield to the next for a tree to grow large, this is the law of nature."
He also stated, "It is important to be wary of divisive tactics that try to exploit this gap," and added, "Someone must receive a low evaluation, and it is natural for those who receive low evaluations to have complaints." In particular, he said, "Dividing this into pro-Lee and anti-Lee factions is a form of division," and urged, "Do not distort the rightful complaints of those with low evaluations as internal division; direct all blame to me as the leader. We will definitely win the general election."
Meanwhile, as the Nomination Management Committee began individual notifications to the bottom 20% of incumbent lawmakers evaluated the previous day, resistance is intensifying. Incumbents in the bottom 20% have 20% deducted from their primary election vote counts, and those in the lowest 10% have 30% deducted. Because of this, those in the lowest 10% are effectively considered 'excluded from nomination.' Deputy Speaker Kim Young-joo defined his inclusion in the bottom 20% as a 'pro-Lee stigma' and declared his resignation from the party the previous day. On the same afternoon, Park Yong-jin, a non-Lee faction lawmaker, announced plans to request a reconsideration. Additionally, Yoon Young-chan, classified as part of the pro-Moon faction, also revealed that he was notified of being in the bottom 10% and expressed opposition.
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