Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon said on the 14th that he would participate in the Democratic Party's primary to select candidates for the 21st presidential election. Although the Democratic Party, which solidified former leader Lee Jae-myung's dominant position, finalized the primary rules without negotiations among the candidates, he stated that he would accept this instead of running as an independent and would participate in the primary.
◇"Principles have collapsed, but... compete with policy"
During a press conference at the Yeouido camp, Kim said, "I regret that the Democratic Party's principle of a public primary has collapsed. What pains me more is that I have disappointed the public, and my heart is heavy," adding, "As the party members have decided, I will accept it heavily, and I will bury it in my heart from today onwards."
Kim stated, "I will approach the primary with the mindset of a farmer who does not blame the field," adding, "I will not be swayed by pros and cons and will go forward confidently. I will compete with visions and policies for a new Republic of Korea." He also noted, "I will take the lead to make the primary a fiercely competitive and magnanimous unification event," stating, "I will do my best for a replacement beyond the regime change."
In the meantime, Governor Kim and former lawmaker Kim Du-kwan and other dissenting candidates have called for the introduction of an "open primary (complete public primary; 100% general public opinion poll)." However, the Democratic Party's special presidential rules committee did not accept this, citing physical time and counter-selection as reasons. After the press conference, Kim told reporters, "The primary rules were determined without any consultation among the candidates or their representatives," calling it a "serious procedural flaw."
◇Democratic Party confirms primary rule of '50% party members, 50% public opinion poll'
Earlier, the Democratic Party decided on the method of selecting a presidential candidate by combining "50% voting by party members and 50% public opinion polls." Although dissenting candidates protested, saying it was a method favorable only to former leader Lee Jae-myung, the party made the decision on its own without official negotiations or discussions among the candidates.
The Democratic Party's Central Committee stated that the proposal to enact a special party regulation with these contents was approved with 96.56% in favor and 3.44% against from votes by central committee members and party members.
Accordingly, ▲100 million party members who joined the party a year before the primary date and ▲who paid party fees for more than six months in the last year will be granted voting rights corresponding to 50%. The remaining 50% will be obtained by randomly selecting 100 million people with a secure number, followed by two polling companies conducting opinion polls with 500,000 each to combine.
The majority of the Democratic Party's party members joined around the previous presidential primary. They are classified as being part of the so-called "Lee Jae-myung fandom." This essentially means that 50% of voting rights are prioritized for these party members.