The Democratic Party confirmed the rules for the 21st presidential election primary based on a Citizens' Participation Primary method, with 50% from party members and 50% from public opinion polls. Candidates from the anti-Lee Jae-myung faction argued for a citizens' primary centered on a voter base, but ultimately could not avoid criticism that it would become an 'Uh Dae-myung' primary (the president is inevitably Lee Jae-myung).

Park Chan-dae, the acting leader of the Democratic Party of Korea and the floor leader, is pounding the gavel at the Central Committee meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on Nov. 14. The Democratic Party finalizes the presidential primary rules based on a system of 50% voting from party members and 50% polling from the general public on this day./Courtesy of News1
Park Chan-dae, the acting leader of the Democratic Party of Korea and the floor leader, is pounding the gavel at the Central Committee meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on Nov. 14. The Democratic Party finalizes the presidential primary rules based on a system of 50% voting from party members and 50% polling from the general public on this day./Courtesy of News1

On the afternoon of the 14th, the Democratic Party held a central committee meeting at the National Assembly and voted on these primary rules. This changes the primary rules from the citizens' primary adopted in the 19th and 20th presidential elections to a Citizens' Participation Primary.

Earlier, the Democratic Party's Special Rules Preparation Committee provisionally confirmed the Citizens' Participation Primary with 50% from party members and 50% from public opinion polls as the rules for the 21st presidential election primary. Among the 1,140,749 party members, 389,033 participated, with 96.64% in favor. Of the 590 committee members, 510 participated, and 96.47% supported it. The combined approval rate is 96.56%.

The Citizens' Participation Primary is a method for selecting candidates with 50% of votes from party members and 50% from public opinion polls. It is known that the Democratic Party's Special Rules Preparation Committee had previously examined the Citizens' Participation Primary as a viable option. The reasons are that the primary period is short, and there is a significant possibility that conservative groups participating as general citizens could hinder the primary of prominent candidate Lee Jae-myung, the former leader of the Democratic Party.

In contrast, the citizens' primary is a method whereby general citizens participate in the primary vote as voters, which was mainly preferred by anti-Lee Jae-myung candidates. If the participation rate of party members increases, it would create a primary advantageous to the former leader Lee, who holds the party sentiment. Additionally, as the citizens' primary was adopted in the previous 19th and 20th presidential elections, there are arguments that it could also be applied to this presidential election without issue.

As the Democratic Party established the Citizens' Participation Primary as the rules, anti-Lee Jae-myung candidates all expressed opposition. They particularly criticized that the Special Rules Preparation Committee did not gather candidates' opinions, stating that the primary is no different from a ceremony to nominate ex-leader Lee Jae-myung.

Former lawmaker Kim Du-kwan issued a statement that day, saying, “The primary rules without consultations with candidates will lead to outcomes similar to nominating a specific candidate, as is evident. I refuse to participate in the Democratic Party primary, which excludes the spirit of Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun.”