Park Chandae and Jeong Chungrae Request Change to Regional Primary Schedule
Election Committee: "Online Speeches and Voting at Party Headquarters"
The Democratic Party of Korea decided on July 18 to cancel the on-site events for the regional primaries in the Chungcheong and Yeongnam regions, which were scheduled for this weekend as part of the August 2 party convention. Instead, the events will be replaced with online speeches and voting. This decision was made after record-breaking heavy rains recently hit the central and southern regions, including Chungcheong, Honam, and Yeongnam, prompting party leadership candidates Park Chandae and Jeong Chungrae to suggest that the schedule for the regional primaries should be reconsidered.
The Central Election Management Committee’s General Planning Division of the Democratic Party issued an urgent notice on the same day, stating, "All on-site events for the 'Chungcheong and Yeongnam' regional primaries scheduled for this weekend have been canceled." The notice continued, "Due to the damage caused by the heavy rains, this week's regional primaries will be conducted as online speech sessions at the party headquarters, and the vote counting will also take place at the same location." The Democratic Party had originally planned to hold a total of five regional primaries: Chungcheong on July 19, Yeongnam on July 20, Honam on July 26, Gyeonggi and Incheon on July 27, and Seoul, Gangwon, and Jeju on August 2.
Jeong Chungrae and Park Chandae, candidates for the Democratic Party leadership, are taking a commemorative photo ahead of the TV debate held at SBS Mokdong in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul on July 16, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin
On the night of July 17, Representatives Park and Jeong accelerated the discussion of event cancellation by expressing on social media that the central party should postpone the party convention schedule. Park stated, "Although the schedule was set in advance, I do not believe it is responsible for the ruling party to proceed with the regional primaries as planned under these (heavy rain) circumstances," and requested that the central party and election committee reconsider the schedule. Jeong also said that he discussed with the central party's election committee whether it was appropriate to proceed with the regional primaries under the current heavy rain situation and about the overall election schedule. He suggested, "If the convention is to be scaled down, why not hold it online and help with flood recovery efforts?" He added, "I have many concerns, but in any case, I will follow the party's decision." As a result, the Democratic Party’s Supreme Council discussed whether to change the schedule and format of the party convention primaries on this day.
The Democratic Party actively reflected the candidates' views and the internal demand that "the primary schedule should be halted." The party also appears to have felt less burdened by the decision, given its previous experiences of postponing regional primaries and holding online conventions due to heavy rain and the resurgence of COVID-19. For example, during the August 29, 2020 party convention, the Democratic Party postponed the joint speech sessions for the Honam and Chungcheong regions after record-breaking heavy rain hit Honam. The convention, which was initially scheduled to be held at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena, was also switched to an online broadcast from the Yeouido party headquarters due to the spread of COVID-19 and the implementation of Level 2 social distancing, which made indoor gatherings difficult.
Meanwhile, since July 16, most of the central and southern regions, including Chungcheong, Yeongnam, and Honam, have suffered damage from heavy rains. According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, as of 6 a.m. on July 18, five people had died. As of 5 a.m., there were 5,192 displaced people from 3,413 households across 52 cities, counties, and districts in 13 provinces and metropolitan cities, with 4,000 people from 2,863 households staying in temporary shelters. In particular, in the Chungcheong region, where the regional primary is scheduled for July 19, Seosan in South Chungcheong Province recorded 519.3 mm of rainfall, and Hongseong recorded 437.6 mm. An additional 100 to 200 mm of rain is forecast for South Chungcheong Province by July 19.
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