Amendment to Article 88 of the Party Constitution: Exception Clause for Presidential Candidates
Conducted via Online Voting with Results Announced in the Afternoon
On the 17th, the Democratic Party of Korea decided to amend the party constitution through the Central Committee to allow exceptions to the resignation deadline for party leaders who intend to run in the presidential election. The vote will be conducted online, and the results will be announced that afternoon.
The key point of the amendment is an exception clause in Article 88, "Recommendation of Presidential Candidates." Currently, the Democratic Party leader or Supreme Council members must resign at least one year before the presidential election to run. However, if the party constitution is amended, the Executive Committee can set a different resignation deadline in cases of "special and considerable reasons." In other words, this effectively removes the restrictions on Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader, regarding his re-election and presidential bid.
The decision will also be made on whether to delete Article 80, which automatically suspends the duties of members involved in corruption upon indictment. If the amendment passes, Lee will be able to maintain his leadership position until the 2026 local elections despite judicial risks. The Democratic Party explained that this amendment is a measure to prepare for emergency situations such as a presidential vacancy.
Lee Jae-myung speaking (Seoul=Yonhap News) Photo by Kim Joo-sung = On the morning of June 17, 2024, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul.
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If the amendment passes, it is widely expected that Lee will announce his official stance on running for party leader as early as this month. With the party convention scheduled for August 18, if Lee decides to seek re-election, he must resign from his current position before starting election preparations according to the regulations. However, some internal opposition to the amendment remains a variable. Some senior pro-Lee (pro-Lee Jae-myung) lawmakers, including Kim Young-jin and Jung Sung-ho, publicly criticized procedural issues with the amendment.
Meanwhile, the amendment also includes measures to strengthen party members' rights. The election method for the Democratic Party floor leader will change from the current "majority vote of registered members" to a combined system of "80% vote from registered lawmakers and 20% vote from party members." Lee said, "Expanding the role of party members strengthens elements of direct democracy," adding, "I believe this is an inevitable trend and the prevailing current of the times."
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