Democratic Party to Reflect 20% Party Sentiment in Electing National Assembly Speaker and Floor Leader

Establishment of Party Member Sovereignty Bureau in Central Party
"Innovation is about discarding what is outdated"

The Democratic Party of Korea has decided to pursue a plan to reflect the opinions of party members with voting rights when selecting the Speaker of the National Assembly and the floor leader. This is interpreted as a response to the ongoing demands for strengthening party membership rights following the defeat of Democratic Party Speaker candidate Chu Mi-ae in the primary.

Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung and Supreme Council member Jang Kyung-tae are talking at the Democratic Party of Korea's first-term elected members workshop held at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 16th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Jang Kyung-tae, head of the Democratic Party’s Party Charter and Regulations Revision Task Force (TF) and a member of the National Assembly, stated at a press conference held on the 29th at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, "We have prepared about 20 amendments to the party charter and regulations to anticipate future political volatility and to revise unnecessary provisions." He added, "The Democratic Party is moving toward its 70-year history. Sometimes innovation involves adding new elements that fit the times, sometimes restoring what no longer fits, and boldly discarding what is outdated."

The party membership rights enhancement measures proposed by the Party Charter and Regulations Revision TF include changing the name 'National Delegate Convention' to 'National Party Members Convention' uniformly, limiting the ratio of delegates to party members with voting rights to less than 20:1 when electing city and provincial party chairpersons, reflecting 20% of the valid votes from party members with voting rights in elections for the Speaker of the National Assembly and floor leader, and establishing a Party Member Sovereignty Bureau within the central party’s dedicated department.

Regarding general election-related regulations, amendments include mandating preferential voting or runoff voting when there are three or more primary candidates, elevating the Verification Committee to a Preliminary Candidate Qualification Review Committee, updating disqualification criteria to realistically address those violating party policies, and explicitly stipulating the disqualification of candidates if false information is discovered during the nomination review or primary process.

When asked why the proportion of party members’ votes was set at 20% in the elections for the Speaker and floor leader, Representative Jang said, "It is a number that sufficiently reflects the concerns of the lawmakers while allowing the will of the party members to play a decisive role." Regarding concerns that reflecting party members’ opinions in the selection of the Speaker and floor leader might violate the National Assembly Act, he responded, "Autonomy is guaranteed for systems where each party elects or selects its representatives."

The Party Charter and Regulations Revision TF reported these measures to the party’s Supreme Council on the same day. The measures are expected to be approved at the first party caucus meeting of the 22nd National Assembly held the following day. Representative Jang said, "We will gather opinions at the caucus meeting the next day and, if there are no special issues, pass it quickly."