Democratic Party Candidate Faces Backlash from Bimyeong Faction over '50% Party Members · 50% Polls' Rule

The Non-Lee Jae-myung Faction's Call for a "Fully Open Primary" Not Reflected
Kim Du-kwan's Camp: "Will Seriously Consider the Meaning of the 'Eodamyeong Primary'"

Former Democratic Party of Korea leader (pre-candidate) Lee Jae-myung and floor leader Park Chan-dae, along with other lawmakers, are saluting the national flag at the party meeting on the 4th. The Democratic Party of Korea confirmed the primary election method on the 12th, selecting the presidential candidate by combining party members' votes and general public opinion polls at a 50-50 ratio. Yonhap News

The Democratic Party of Korea finalized on the 12th the primary election method to select the presidential candidate by conducting party member voting and general public opinion polls at a 50-50 ratio.

According to political circles, the party's Special Committee for Presidential Election Rules decided on the same day to enact the "Special Party Rules on the Selection of Candidates for the 21st Presidential Election," stipulating that the presidential candidate will be chosen through 50% party member votes and 50% general public opinion polls.

The adoption of general public opinion polls instead of the elector voting system used in the previous presidential primary, which gathered public opinion, was due to internal concerns that the elector recruitment process could be subject to organized "reverse selection" by external forces such as certain religious groups.

The Rules Preparation Committee reported the special party rules to the closed-door Supreme Council and the party caucus held that afternoon, and the Supreme Council will convene the Party Affairs Committee and the Central Committee to complete the enactment procedure of the special party rules.

The anti-Lee Jae-myung faction had demanded a fully open primary system that does not distinguish between party members and the general public, citing that Lee Jae-myung, the preliminary candidate, had controlled the party leadership during his tenure as party leader, but this demand was not accepted.

Ko Young-in, former lawmaker from Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon's camp, released a statement on the day saying, "The Kim Dong-yeon camp firmly opposes a 'nominal primary without a national electorate.'" He emphasized, "Since the 16th presidential primary that elected former President Roh Moo-hyun, through to the 20th presidential primary that selected former leader Lee Jae-myung as the candidate, the principle was to hold primaries through a national electorate. Abandoning the national primary means a lack of trust in the people." He further urged reconsideration of the primary rules, saying, "If applying existing rules, that is one thing, but if changing the rules, a discussion table should be created with the candidates involved to derive acceptable rules."

Baek Wang-soon, spokesperson for former lawmaker Kim Du-kwan, also expressed concern in a commentary on the day, stating, "The primary candidates were not even consulted about the primary rules, and the decision was made unilaterally," adding, "The current state of the Democratic Party is very dangerous." He continued, "The Democratic Party must never resemble Yoon Seok-youl and the People Power Party, who did not recognize opposition leaders and consistently lacked communication," and said, "I will deeply reconsider the meaning of participating in the 'Eodamyeong (Anyway, the presidential candidate is Lee Jae-myung) primary.'" Former lawmaker Kim also expressed regret in a KBS radio interview on the same day, saying, "The process of setting the primary rules was undemocratic."