Jung Chung-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea on the 5th apologized that he felt "a heavy heart toward party members" after a party charter revision bill for the "one person, one vote system for delegates and dues-paying members," a core campaign pledge in his party leader platform, was voted down by the Central Committee. Still, he said, "We will pause for a moment in our steps toward a party of member sovereignty, but I will move forward believing only in the party members," signaling plans to push the "one person, one vote system" again. But with the core pledge he had pressed hard for falling through, Jung's leadership appears certain to take a hit.
That afternoon, after both Agenda Nos. 1 and 2 of the charter revision bill were voted down in the Central Committee ballot, Jung held a brief press gaggle following internal leadership discussions.
Jung said, "Today in the Central Committee, both Charter Revision Bill No. 1 and No. 2 were voted down. I sincerely apologize to all party members." He added, "I tried to keep the pledge I made at the party convention, but it was voted down in the Central Committee, making it impossible to keep that promise."
He said, "The approval rate was relatively high at 70%, but I find it very regrettable that it was voted down due to a lack of a quorum (a majority of those eligible)."
Even so, he said he would push again for the charter revision bill for the "one person, one vote system." He said, "The one person, one vote charter revision bill seems to face many difficulties for immediate resubmission," but emphasized, "The desire for an era of party member sovereignty befitting the era of national sovereignty under the Lee Jae-myung administration cannot stop here."
Jung said, "For now, the dream of one person, one vote in a party of member sovereignty will pause, but I believe the Democratic Party will ultimately move toward a party of member sovereignty, and party members will continue to order us to go down that path," adding, "I will move forward believing only in the party sentiment, only in the party members."
Although it was the first press gaggle held four months after he took office as party leader in Aug., Jung left before the question-and-answer session began after finishing his opening remarks.
Earlier, the Democratic Party held a vote of Central Committee members that placed two charter revision bills on the agenda: the one person, one vote system and changes to nomination rules for local elections. Contrary to expectations that they would pass smoothly, both were voted down. They posted an approval rate of over 70% but failed to surpass a majority of those eligible.
On the charter revision bill being voted down, Jung cited "low turnout" as the cause. Jung said, "It is interpreted that this result came from low turnout."
Secretary-General Cho Seung-rae said, "Fundamentally, it proves that the concerns raised within the party were not completely resolved." He also assessed, "This time the vote changed to a two-step verification system, and I think a combination of factors such as technical issues and time constraints may have played a role."
Some interpret the vote as having a strong character of a no-confidence message from Central Committee members, including party lawmakers and city and provincial party chairs, toward Jung. In particular, the one person, one vote system, which removes the weighting given to delegates' votes and makes them equal in value to dues-paying members' votes, was a pledge Jung made at the Aug. 2 party convention.
But Jung's side drew a line against that interpretation. Secretary-General Cho said, "I think there can be views that interpret it that way," but added, "There have been more than a few cases of Central Committee votes being voted down. It is not appropriate to link it directly like that."
The Democratic Party plans to promptly prepare a revised version of the charter revision bill related to local election nomination rules, which was also voted down this time, and resubmit it to the Central Committee. If the related charter revision is delayed, preparations for the local elections could be disrupted.
Jung said, "It seems there are provisions that regional chairs are opposed to, so we will ease those parts and bring a revised bill to a Central Committee vote as soon as possible." The Democratic Party plans to convene the Local Election Planning Group this weekend to sort out the points of contention and to resubmit to the Central Committee after the Supreme Council meeting on the 8th and the Party Affairs Committee on the 9th.
However, he said the timing for pushing the charter revision for the "one person, one vote system" would be discussed further later. Secretary-General Cho said, "We will discuss the timing and procedures calmly."