The Democratic Party of Korea is heading into a "big match in May." Next month, it will hold back-to-back votes to elect its National Assembly speaker nominee and its floor leader. Because the speaker race is open to lawmakers with five or more terms and the floor leader race to those with three or more terms, a fierce competition among candidates is expected. Depending on the results, the makeup of the National Assembly and the ruling party's floor leadership after the June 3 local elections will also change.
According to the political sphere on the 14th, the Democratic Party will hold the floor leader election on the 6th of next month and a vote to select its National Assembly speaker nominee on the 13th of the same month. The speaker is elected by a method in which the candidate recommended through an internal primary by the largest party is approved in a secret ballot at a plenary session by a majority of all sitting lawmakers.
Within the Democratic Party, six-term lawmaker Cho Jeong-sik and five-term lawmakers Kim Tae-nyeon and Park Ji-won are being floated as speaker candidates. All are politicians who have served in roles across the party, government, and Blue House, including as floor leader, Minister, and presidential special adviser.
The Democratic Party's most-senior lawmaker, Cho Jeong-sik, has been serving as political special adviser to President Lee Jae-myung and is said to have prepared early for the speaker race. Kim Tae-nyeon, a former floor leader, is currently leading the "Snap! Fit Pledges" initiative, the "People's Livelihood Economy Great Leap Forward Task Force," a set of local election pledges. At 84, Park Ji-won, the oldest member of the 22nd National Assembly, is throwing his weight behind party-driven bills in The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee.
There is also strong political interest in the Democratic Party's floor leader race. The incumbent, Floor Leader Han Byung-do, took office in Jan. He was elected in the floor leader vote held after his predecessor, former Floor Leader Kim Byung-kee, resigned following an investigation last year into alleged bribery tied to nominations.
From the outset, Floor Leader Han has signaled his intention to seek another term. Lawmakers Park Jeong, Baek Hye-ryeon, and Jin Seong-jun, who ran with him in a four-way contest in the previous floor leader race, are also being mentioned as likely candidates this time.
A Democratic Party lawmaker said, "At the start of the administration, several problems arose within the floor leadership and it even led to the floor leader stepping down, so lawmakers seem to be prioritizing stability."
On the 20th, the Democratic Party plans to refer a motion to the party affairs committee to establish an election commission to select candidates for floor leader and the National Assembly speaker team. The speaker nominee and floor leader elections will be conducted by combining 80% of lawmakers' votes and 20% of dues-paying party members' votes. In its 2024 party charter and rules revision, the Democratic Party ensured that dues-paying members' preferences would also be reflected in choosing the speaker nominee and floor leader.