The Democratic Party of Korea will publish a green paper that includes various opinions and discussion processes from policy-related stakeholders. The organization responsible for the green paper has also officially launched. A dedicated website will be established to directly collect opinions to be included in the green paper. The party noted that while it would prepare policies based on questions raised by the public, it is cautious about interpretations linking this to early presidential elections.
On the morning of the 7th, the Democratic Party held the launch ceremony for "Everyone's Questions Q" at the National Assembly's parliamentary office building. The project is being led by Park Tae-woong, head of the Democratic Research Institute's Collective Intelligence Center. Park raised the need for the green paper during a party workshop, and it is known that party leader Lee actively embraced Park's opinion.
Lee emphasized the need for the Democratic Party to change its policy-making method, mentioning that the impeachment rallies did not spread after President Yoon Seok-yeol's declaration of a state of emergency on December 3rd. He noted in particular that the public does not view the Democratic Party's governance positively after the impeachment.
Lee said, "When the Democratic Party holds rallies near Gwanghwamun, why don't they spread? They seem like wet firewood. I thought the fire wouldn't catch. The public believes that even though they fought hard during the candlelight revolution, their lives are not changing." He added, "During the candlelight revolution for Park Geun-hye's impeachment, we fought hard to oust her, but what has changed in my life?"
The communication platform established by the Democratic Party, "Everyone's Questions Q," collects opinions through its website (https://모두의질문q.kr) and the YouTube channel "OPQR (Providing the questions you need today)." Designated Democratic Party members from each standing committee of the National Assembly will respond to the questions. The party plans to gather opinions until the end of next month and publish the green paper.
Park Tae-woong stated, "Korean society overflows with trust capital, but surprisingly, it is a corrupt state resembling an elite cartel," and emphasized that, "We need to pour the trust resources of the Republic of Korea into politics and consolidate collective intelligence. He added, "I hope that receiving the wishes of citizens and resolving issues becomes a common practice and procedure."
Lee has reportedly lent his support to the prior planning of "Everyone's Questions Q." At the launch ceremony that day, he praised Park Tae-woong by saying, "Every time I hear what Chairman Park says, I don't feel that time is wasted. He is like oxygen to me and a wise man of the Republic of Korea," and emphasized that, "The green paper project is a way for collective intelligence of the public to create politics."
◇"Misunderstanding about presidential election preparation" as the Democratic Party draws a line
As the Democratic Party continues to activate organizations preparing for the early presidential election, interpretations have emerged in the political arena that Lee has entered "presidential election mode." This follows the first official seminar held by the ruling planning headquarters the day prior and the launch of "Everyone's Questions Q."
However, the Democratic Party holds the position that preparations for the green paper have been made since shortly after last year's general election and are unrelated to the early presidential election. They assessed that discussing an early presidential election while the impeachment of President Yoon has not yet been resolved could lead to backlash. The party leadership, including Lee, is refraining from mentioning the early presidential election as much as possible, although internal organizations are actively preparing for it.
Lee Han-joo, head of the Democratic Research Institute, said that this is the first time for the serious production of the green paper, adding, "There are one or two misunderstandings; there have been discussions recently suggesting that this is for the presidential election, but this project started at the end of the year before last." He continued, "This was not hastily organized for the presidential election."