Low Turnout at 16.8%
"Illogical Move, Significant Concerns Among Supreme Council Members"
As Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, has begun the process of revising the party constitution and regulations to significantly strengthen the rights of dues-paying members, Supreme Council Member Eonju Lee, a member of the party leadership, criticized the move as being "hastily pushed through."
On November 21, Assemblywoman Lee wrote on Facebook about the Supreme Council's decision to promote amendments to the party constitution and regulations, including equalizing the voting value ratio between delegates and party members to 1:1. She stated, "Although a considerable number of Supreme Council members, close to a majority, expressed concerns and requested further deliberation, the decision was forced through and pursued in a hasty or impulsive manner, which is deeply regrettable." She added, "During the closed session that followed the public meeting, several Supreme Council members were absent due to previously scheduled commitments such as standing committee meetings, yet the amendment was simply passed."
Previously, on November 17, Leader Jeong announced plans to amend the party constitution and regulations, stating, "I will fulfill the promise made at the party convention to usher in an era of party member sovereignty and one-person-one-vote." The Democratic Party subsequently conducted a two-day vote among party members, intended as a survey of opinions, which concluded the day before. Of the party members eligible to vote, 16.8% participated, and among them, 86.8% supported the 'one-person-one-vote' proposal. On this day, Leader Jeong assessed, "The will of nearly 90% of party members is an unstoppable trend."
Assemblywoman Lee commented on the voter turnout, saying, "If this had been an important vote, it would have failed to meet the quorum required by the party constitution and regulations, which is 30% of dues-paying members, and thus would not have been valid." She continued, "To push the amendment forward under the pretext of 'overwhelming support' is simply illogical." She further stated, "I hope that those advocating for the swift passage of these amendments, including the party leader and secretary-general, will reconsider the true meaning of party member sovereignty and take a forward-looking approach to reviewing this issue."
The Democratic Party plans to hold a party affairs committee meeting on November 24 and a central committee meeting on November 28 to vote on the proposed amendments to the party constitution and regulations. However, there are concerns that, if the amendments pass, the delegate system-which is relatively more relied upon in vulnerable regions such as Yeongnam-will be effectively neutralized, resulting in the views of party members from Honam, where the party membership base is much larger, and certain ideological factions being overrepresented within the party. Despite these concerns, some observers suggest that Leader Jeong is pushing for the amendments in order to secure re-election as party leader at the party convention scheduled for August 2026. In the previous convention, Jeong lost the delegate vote, which is considered an organizational vote, but won by a large margin in the party member vote.
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