Hong Joon-pyo: "Party leader election should be 100% party member voting"

Calls for Change to the '100% Rule' Emerge Within the Day

Following the crushing defeat in the April 10 general election, the People Power Party is scheduled to hold a party convention to elect new leadership, with Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo proposing that "the party leader election should be conducted with 100% party member voting."

In a post on his Facebook on the 17th, Mayor Hong stated, "Since the party leader represents the party members, it seems appropriate that only party members should have the right to vote in the election," expressing this view.

Hong Joon-pyo, Mayor of Daegu
Photo by Yonhap News

He explained, "The rule to elect the party leader with 30% public opinion poll and 70% party member vote was changed when I was the Innovation Committee Chairman of the Grand National Party in 2006," adding, "Before that, not only the party leader but also metropolitan government heads and presidential candidates were elected 100% by party members."

He continued, "When I was the Innovation Committee Chairman, I changed the rule so that the party leader election was 30% public opinion poll and 70% party members, and for metropolitan government heads and presidential candidates, it was changed to 50% public opinion poll and 50% party members," adding, "While the main election targeting the public can remain as is, there have been claims to include provisions to prevent reverse voting because people supporting other parties have been exercising voting rights in our party leader election, which is an unfairness."

He then said, "Although I created the rule, it seems right that the party leader election should be conducted with 100% party member voting," and "there seems to be no need to change that rule."

The People Power Party previously changed the party convention rules in December 2022 for electing the party leader and Supreme Council members from 70% party member vote and 30% public opinion poll to 100% party member vote. After the revision of the party constitution and regulations, the Kim Ki-hyun leadership was inaugurated last year.

Meanwhile, voices calling for changing the party leader election rules are emerging within the party. On the morning of the same day, People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo emphasized in an interview on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "Public sentiment is party sentiment, and party sentiment should be Yoon sentiment. The party convention where former President Park Geun-hye was elected was 50% public sentiment and 50% party sentiment," adding, "It is essential that this changes."

In response to the host's question, "Isn't holding the June convention a bit too soon?" he replied, "June will be difficult," and added, "According to what I heard from the staff, it takes about one to two months. The earliest it can be held is probably late June to early July."