The Democratic Party of Korea is deliberating over the party's internal election rules for selecting the candidate for the 21st presidential election. Candidates from the non-Lee Jae-myung faction are advocating for a national primary and open primary, but within the party, there is a strong call for a national participation primary that favors former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung. In particular, the lack of negotiations among the preliminary candidates is expected to stir controversy over fairness.
The Democratic Party's Special Rules Preparation Committee discussed the election rules again on the morning of the 11th but failed to reach a conclusion. The committee is reportedly contemplating between the national primary and the national participation primary.
The national primary allows the general public to participate in the voting process as electors, a method primarily preferred by non-Lee Jae-myung candidates. If the participation of regular party members increases, it would favor the election process for former leader Lee, who holds the majority support within the party. Furthermore, since the national primary was adopted in the previous 19th and 20th presidential elections, there are claims that applying it in this election would not be problematic.
The national participation primary is a method where candidates are chosen by a process of '50% party member votes and 50% general public opinion polls.' The Democratic Party's Special Rules Preparation Committee is currently considering the national participation primary as a significant option. The shorter duration of the primary and the likelihood of conservative members participating among the general public potentially disrupting the primary of prominent candidate Lee is cited as a reason.
In particular, candidates from the non-Lee Jae-myung faction have raised voices of criticism, arguing that the Special Rules Preparation Committee intends to unilaterally decide the election rules without sufficient feedback. They claim that the committee is considering rules that only benefit former leader Lee.
A representative from Kim Dong-yeon's camp expressed regret, saying, 'It is very unfortunate that there are movements to make unilateral decisions without meetings or feedback from each camp's representatives.' They emphasized that 'a rational and fair rule that everyone can understand is necessary for a unified primary.'
A spokesperson from former lawmaker Kim Du-kwan's camp stated in a position paper, 'The finalization of the election rules must include an agreement among candidates, as was the case in the previous 18th presidential candidate primary.' They proposed adopting a 'fully open primary' as a selection method, allowing anyone over 18, including delegates, party members, and the general public, to participate and vote on-site.
The Special Rules Preparation Committee decided not to reach a conclusion in the morning meeting and to gather opinions on the election rules from each candidate before the afternoon meeting. However, they plan to finalize the election rules on that day and conduct a vote among party members over the weekend to avoid any schedule disruptions.
Lee Chun-seok, head of the Democratic Party's Special Rules Committee, met with reporters after the morning meeting and said, 'A process to gather opinions from the party is necessary, so I requested to be told what to discuss before the afternoon meeting.' He stated, 'This afternoon, we will decide on the election rules and present them to the Supreme Committee.'