Elevating the General Election White Paper TF to a Special Committee
Next Leadership to Be Elected Within 3 Months at Most
Key Focus on Revising the '100% Party Member Convention Rule'
The Emergency Response Committee of the People Power Party has officially launched. This emergency committee is essentially temporary. According to the party constitution and regulations of the People Power Party, the term of the emergency committee chairperson is six months, but this committee is burdened with the obligation to hold a party convention no later than August, when the Democratic Party of Korea’s party convention is scheduled. Additionally, one more task assigned is to analyze the causes of the general election failure. Since this emergency committee was formed following the resignation of former Emergency Committee Chairperson Han Dong-hoon after the general election defeat, a clear statement on this matter is also necessary.
On the 13th, the emergency committee elevated the General Election White Paper Task Force to a special committee. This is interpreted as an intention to conduct a more in-depth analysis of the causes of the election failure. The general election white paper is expected to include the problems revealed in this election and directions for improvement. Chairman Jo Jeong-hoon reportedly met privately with Public Official Recommendation Committee Chairperson Jeong Young-hwan to hear opinions on the system nomination and the citizen recommendation system for the white paper preparation. The special committee also continued discussions by meeting with candidates who ran in the Seoul area. It is known that former Chairperson Han Dong-hoon and former Secretary-General Jang Dong-hyuk are also scheduled for interviews. On the 14th, Emergency Committee Chairperson Hwang Woo-yeo said, "I hope it is created independently, like how the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty were made in the past. If there are parts difficult to disclose, it is fine to keep them as secret documents," adding, "I hope a meaningful white paper is created that will serve as our guideline, to be seen only by the next election or the next leadership."
There are also voices that the party convention to elect the leadership should appeal not only to party members but to the entire nation. Former lawmaker Lee Jung-hyun, who ran and lost in Jeonnam, recommended, "Minimize the participation fee for hopeful candidates to encourage diverse participation, then conduct continuous cutoffs through debates, etc.," adding, "The final 1.5 times the number of candidates should travel around the field to experience together and simultaneously verify qualifications through public debates, turning it into an opportunity to share the party’s identity, aspirations, and areas for improvement with the public while generating excitement." This means that during the party convention process, the party’s core policies should be communicated to the entire nation to gain public support.
For a successful party convention, there is an opinion that revising the 'party convention rules' is essential. Since the emergency committee must realistically launch the next leadership within three months at the latest, it cannot change all systems in a short period, so it must demonstrate its will for innovation through revising the convention rules. Currently, the People Power Party elects the party leader and supreme council members solely through 100% party member voting. There are demands inside and outside the party to increase the proportion of public voting to up to 50%.
Kim Yong-tae, a member of the People Power Party emergency committee, said in a CBS radio interview, "I have said that a 5:5 ratio is the best and optimal," adding, "I think finding an appropriate balance point is a very important process of democracy, and furthermore, there seem to be many interpretations with various ratios, but in this emergency committee, we will listen to many opinions to find the appropriate percentage (%)."
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