Nomination committee sets candidate selection criteria after marathon meeting
Final candidates to be confirmed between April 9 and 20
Youth-focused nominations... Lee Junghyun says "we will grant significant privileges"
The People Power Party has decided to hold in-house primaries from March 26 to April 9 ahead of the June 3 local elections. During the nomination review process, the party plans to put special emphasis on a public audition for young people. Governors and mayors in highly competitive regions may also become subjects of public auditions. Candidates who fall under the five major disqualification criteria, such as abuse of power and nomination-related corruption, will be completely excluded from nominations, while additional points by category will be granted separately, with 15 points for young people and 10 points for women.
Lee Jeonghyun, chairman of the People Power Party's Nomination Management Committee, is entering the 3rd meeting of the party's central nomination committee for the 9th nationwide local elections at the party's central headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul on the 26th. Yonhap News
On the afternoon of the 26th, the People Power Party held the 3rd meeting of the Central Party Nomination Management Committee for the 9th nationwide local elections at its headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, and finalized the application schedule related to local election nominations. By deciding to expand the scope of those eligible for nomination review fee reductions, the committee also adopted resolutions on introducing strategic regional auditions and youth auditions, as well as on nomination application qualifications and disqualification criteria.
Candidates by region to surface after eight days
The People Power Party will announce the call for nomination applications from March 1 to 4 and will accept applications from March 5 to 11. Specifically, applications for heads of metropolitan and basic local governments will be accepted from March 5 to 8; for metropolitan council members (both constituency-based and proportional representation) from March 5 to 10; and for basic council members (both constituency-based and proportional representation) from March 5 to 11. However, additional applications for proportional representation metropolitan council seats to be filled through the youth audition will go through a separately announced notice and application process.
The candidate review period will run from March 9 to 20. The primary period will be from March 26 to April 9. Final candidate selections will be made as follows: single-candidate recommendations on April 9, recommendations for metropolitan government head candidates on April 16, and recommendations for metropolitan and basic council candidates on April 20.
In this nomination process, the People Power Party has decided to expand the categories eligible for nomination review fee exemptions and to grant a 50% reduction in the review fee to socially disadvantaged applicants. The scope of those eligible for reductions has been broadened beyond independence patriots and national merit honorees to include war veterans themselves and their spouses and direct descendants. Registered persons with disabilities, North Korean defectors, and multicultural families are also included. In addition, party secretariat staffers and aides will be included as eligible beneficiaries.
A different kind of 'youth audition'... "Possible to save candidates with a pass card"
The People Power Party will adopt a different audition format in this nomination process. It has decided to hold public auditions for priority recommendation in regions where competition is intense. Mayors and provincial governors may also become audition subjects. The party will also hold a public youth audition to select 23 proportional representation metropolitan council members (in cases where they are chosen through public review procedures set by the Central Party Nomination Management Committee).
In particular, the public youth audition is a "flagship nomination project" put forward by the nomination committee. The People Power Party plans to gradually narrow down the overall applicants to 100, then 40, then 17 through multiple stages of screening and auditions. At this point, six separate judges will be appointed, and they will also have the option of rescuing promising applicants who failed by using a total of six pass cards.
The 3rd meeting of the Central Party Candidate Selection Committee for the 9th nationwide local elections was held on the 26th at the People Power Party central headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Yonhap News
Lee Junghyun, chair of the nomination committee, explained, "For the youth audition, we will have judges, and once the interview is over, the result will be indicated on the spot. If three of the six lights turn on, the applicant advances to the next round," adding, "If only two lights turn on but the person is considered too good to lose, a judge can use one pass card to let that person through."
He continued, "Those who make it into the group of 17+6 through the audition will be ranked and given the significant privilege of being placed within the electable range for metropolitan proportional representation," and stressed, "This will spark young people's interest in politics and in our party." He added, "We are requesting cooperation from broadcasters, and the party also plans to provide live coverage, so we intend to make the audition as public as possible."
Five major disqualification criteria, including abuse of power and nomination corruption, lead to complete exclusion
The People Power Party also passed resolutions related to nomination application qualifications. Incumbent heads of metropolitan governments will not be allowed to run for basic local government head positions, and incumbent metropolitan council members will not be allowed to run for basic council seats. In addition, basic council members will be prohibited from receiving the top "A" ranking in party-list ordering for three consecutive nominations. Consecutive terms for proportional representation metropolitan and basic council members will also be banned.
The disqualification criteria were specified to include: violent crimes; bribery-related crimes; property crimes; tax evasion; election crimes; sex crimes; crimes related to children and adolescents; driving a hit-and-run vehicle causing injury or death, and driving without a license; drunk driving; crimes committed by public officials; and dishonest acts such as real estate speculation, illegal wealth accumulation, and illegal gifting.
In particular, the following will constitute the five major disqualification criteria leading to complete exclusion from nomination: abuse of status, such as abuse of aides, to commit dishonest acts; corrupt acts in the nomination process, such as nomination donations; local crimes involving abuse of status, such as misuse of administrative licensing authority and crimes by public officials; the four types of misconduct (sexual misconduct, admissions irregularities, hiring corruption, and military service corruption) committed by the candidate, spouse, or children; and cases where the person has caused social controversy that does not conform to public sentiment or common social norms.
Additional points: 15 for youth, 10 for women
The nomination review criteria were finalized as follows: electability (competitiveness in the general election); expertise, including suitability for regional development; alignment with party identity; morality and integrity; level of trust from local voters; and evaluation of contributions to the party.
Additional points in the primaries will differ by category and level of competition. Young people (under 30) can receive up to 15 points; political newcomers (aged 45 to under 60) receive 7 points; and women (aged 45 to 60) receive 10 points. Severely disabled persons, North Korean defectors, merit honorees, party secretariat staffers, and National Assembly aides with at least 10 years of service each receive 10 points. These additional points will not be accumulated in duplicate; if multiple categories apply, only the highest additional point value will be applied.
Having finalized various detailed rules and directions related to the local elections at the meeting, the nomination committee decided to hold a concluding meeting on March 3. Lee said, "Going forward, applications will be processed separately in each category, but depending on circumstances and specific cases, there may also be additional application rounds."
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