"I Will Be the Party Leader Who Fully Ushered in the Era of Party Member Sovereignty"
Meeting with Jeju Provincial Party Members
On October 25, Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated regarding the local elections scheduled for June next year, "We will fully open participation to party members, allowing them to directly select candidates, thereby eliminating unfair cutoffs."
At a meeting with party members of the Jeju Provincial Party held in Jeju on the same day, Leader Jeong said, "I want to be remembered as the party leader who fully ushered in the era of party member sovereignty," and made these remarks.
Jeong explained, "Some ask what we will do if there are too many candidates when trying to eliminate unfair cutoffs. In that case, we plan to divide them into groups for the primary election." As a specific example, he said, "If there are 10 candidates, we will split them into Group A and Group B. The first preliminary primary will be decided solely by party member votes, and then, as per the original rules, the top candidates from each group will compete in the main primary, with the vote split 50 to 50 between party members and the general public." He added, "We intend to create a system where anyone can participate in the primary without cutoffs, and where many people can unite to support the elected candidate even after the primary."
Regarding the Jeju 4·3 Incident, Jeong stated, "We define it as state violence against the people of Jeju," and continued, "After former President Roh Moo-hyun apologized for the state violence, efforts for healing and compensation have been underway. However, there are indeed attempts to distort the historical truth. Through the local elections, we will work to ensure that the will of the people of Jeju is expressed and realized."
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