Democrats Confirm Primary Rules: 50% Party Members and 50% Public Participation Primary

The Democratic Party has finalized the so-called 'National Participation Primary,' which selects the June 3 presidential candidate through 50% party members' votes and 50% general public opinion polls.

On the 14th, the Democratic Party held a Central Committee meeting at the National Assembly and passed the enactment of the 'Special Party Regulation on the Selection of the 21st Presidential Election Candidate.'

The results of the online voting by central committee members and party members showed 96.56% in favor and 3.44% against.

Among 1,140,749 party members, 389,033 (34.1%) participated in the vote, of whom 375,978 (96.65%) voted in favor. Among 590 central committee members, 510 participated in the vote, and 492 voted in favor.

Park Chan-dae, Acting Party Leader and Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is saluting the national flag at the Central Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on April 14, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Earlier, the Democratic Party's Special Committee for Presidential Election Regulations decided on the 12th to enact a special regulation to select the presidential candidate by combining 50% party members' votes and 50% public opinion polls. After going through the Party Affairs Committee and a vote by all party members, the primary rules were finalized by the Central Committee's resolution on this day.

Party members eligible to vote are those who joined the party at least one year before the primary date and have paid party dues for at least six months within the past year. The opinion poll will be conducted on one million people randomly selected through anonymized phone numbers, counting only responses from Democratic Party supporters and independents.

Previously, during the 19th and 20th presidential elections, the Democratic Party conducted the main primary using a national primary method that included both party members and the general public as the electorate.