Jeong Cheongrae: "Local Elections to Be Fully Expanded with 100% Participation of Voting Party Members"

Good Local Government Committee Launch Ceremony Held
Jeong: "There Will Be No More Top-Down Appointments by the Leadership"

Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated regarding next year's June 3 local elections, "There will be no more top-down appointments by the leadership as in the past; such things will not happen." He announced that the elections would be fully expanded to allow 100% participation by party members with voting rights.

At the launch ceremony of the Good Local Government Committee held at the National Assembly on this day, Jeong emphasized, "The greatest cornerstone for victory in the local elections is having the highest number of party members with voting rights and the entire membership participate in the primaries."

The Democratic Party of Korea is currently establishing the rules for the primaries for next year's local elections. Jeong explained, "Yesterday, I received a report on the local election rules from Secretary-General Cho Seungrae, and the rules are being set in the most democratic way possible."

He added, "In a way, I think this local election will be one where the leadership relinquishes its authority and rights. Lawmakers in local constituencies also do not need to be overly concerned about the leadership's preferences."

However, he left open the possibility of the party exercising strategic nominations. Jeong explained, "Strategic nominations are guaranteed by the party constitution and regulations, and if necessary, we will implement them. However, this cannot be considered a cut-off. To what extent we exercise this will be determined according to the situation."

Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and other attendees are performing a victory celebration for the local elections at the Democratic Party's Good Local Government Committee inauguration ceremony held at the National Assembly Museum on the 29th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Regarding the criteria for disqualifying candidates from the local election primaries, he stated, "'Disqualification without exception' means automatic rejection of documents with no exceptions, and there is nothing that can be done in such cases." He added, "Such cases would involve individuals who have become the subject of public criticism." However, he clarified, "For simple disqualifications, we have prepared remedies such as considering extenuating circumstances or making different decisions based on a two-thirds majority of the screening committee."

He also remarked, "Next year's local elections will not be easy," and urged, "We must not let our guard down for even a moment. We should sincerely reach out to voters and citizens at the grassroots level without neglect. I will set an example myself."