Ahn Gyu-baek: "Many Noisy Issues in Opposition Candidate Selection, but Systematically Structured"

Controversy Over Fairness in Bottom 10% Lawmaker Evaluation
Strategic Nomination Committee Chair: "It Is Structured and Accessible for Personal Review"

Ahn Gyu-baek, the Democratic Party's Strategic Nomination Committee Chair, addressed concerns about the fairness of the evaluation of the 'bottom 10% incumbent lawmakers' (Park Yong-jin and Yoon Young-chan), stating, "The party's nomination process is quite systematic. It was conducted within a structured category framework, considering party member surveys and public opinion polls."

On the 22nd, appearing on KBS's "Jeon Jong-cheol's Jeonggyeok Sisa," Ahn said, "There are more than 30 evaluation factors across four tasks, so multiple elements are reflected," adding, "Because the evaluation sheets contain personal information, if the individual requests to view them, it will be 100% possible." He further explained, "There are mutual comparisons among first-term lawmakers, among second-term lawmakers, and among senior lawmakers with three or more terms, as well as multi-faceted evaluations including attendance at plenary sessions and various other factors. Therefore, the overall assessment is combined. The resulting scores are refined, reflecting diverse evaluation criteria."

Regarding the growing discord over nominations, he said, "Opposition parties have always experienced various noises and disturbances during the nomination process," and added, "We consider this as part of the process, and once nominations are finalized, we will form a united front and focus on the election."

Ahn stated, "There have been various collective expressions of opinion among lawmakers. It is true that discussions about party withdrawal and new parties have occurred among members," but he emphasized, "Now is the time for collective intelligence rather than emotional decisions. I will open my heart and meet with these individuals."

He concluded, "Since the spirit of this general election is to judge the current administration, I believe we have nominated candidates who can check the Yoon Seok-yeol administration and demonstrate expertise in their respective fields and regional development, economy, media, and local autonomy, in line with their connections and regional characteristics."