Candidates vying for leadership positions in the Democratic Party of Korea have completed their registration and are ramping up efforts to win public support. Concurrently, a so-called 'war of rules' has emerged over various issues, intensifying factional conflicts within the party.
Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok is set to tour the Daejeon area on the 18th before attending a memorial concert for Kim Min-ki in Iksan, North Jeolla Province. The late Kim Min-ki, born in Iksan in 1951, debuted as a singer in 1971 and is regarded as a master of Korean folk music, known for his iconic pro-democracy songs 'Morning Dew' and 'Evergreen.'
Notably, Kim's schedule in Daejeon is significant as the party convention will be held there on August 17. The convention preparation committee previously announced a tour schedule starting from Chungcheongnam-do, Chungcheongbuk-do, Daejeon, and Sejong, moving through Ulsan, Busan, Gyeongsangnam-do, Jeju, Incheon, Gangwon, Daegu, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, Gwangju, Gyeonggi, and Seoul, concluding in Daejeon. Kim's focus on Daejeon is seen as an attempt to gain an early advantage in voter sentiment.
Representative Song Young-gil is holding town hall meetings in Gyeongsangnam-do and Ulsan to enhance communication with party members. Gyeongsangnam-do is particularly important as it accounts for 5% of the weighted votes from national delegates and party members, due to its designation as a vulnerable area by the preparation committee. The introduction of a one-person, one-vote system at this convention aims to address concerns that certain regional opinions may be overlooked.
Both Gyeongsangnam-do and Ulsan have shown strong support for the Democratic Party in the recent local elections. In Gyeongsangnam-do, former Provincial Era Committee Chair Kim Kyung-soo narrowly lost to Governor Park Wan-soo, while in Ulsan, Democratic Party member Kim Sang-wook successfully defeated former Mayor Kim Du-gyeom, who ran as a candidate from the People Power Party.
Former party leader Jung Cheong-rae is hosting a party meeting for local delegates in his constituency of Mapo-gu, Seoul, focusing on key agenda items such as the appointment of executive committee members and national delegates. This meeting is expected to further emphasize party member sovereignty. Jung, who introduced the one-person, one-vote system, is promoting a Democratic Party centered on its members as part of his election strategy.
Additionally, Jung is anticipated to appeal for support from party members in his district, where he has been elected four times and enjoys strong backing.
Factional tensions continue to simmer ahead of the party convention, particularly between the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction and the pro-Jung Cheong-rae faction. The pro-Lee faction has criticized the failure to implement the Youth Supreme Council system, while the pro-Jung faction has opposed the introduction of the preference voting system. The pro-Lee faction claims that the pro-Jung faction's lack of a clear candidate for the Youth Supreme Council led to their opposition to the system, while the pro-Jung faction argues that the introduction of the preference voting system violates party rules.
The preference voting system allows voters to list their top three preferred candidates on a single ballot. If a candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes in the first round, they are declared the winner. If no candidate achieves a majority, subsequent choices are counted to determine the winner. Some analysts suggest this system may favor the pro-Lee faction.
Moreover, the Democratic Party is facing controversy after recognizing the candidacy of Song Young-gil, a pro-Lee candidate, and Kim Yong, a former deputy head of the Democratic Research Institute, for the Supreme Council. The party's recent meetings determined to grant them candidacy exceptions, despite party regulations stating that eligibility is limited to party members who have joined at least six months prior to the exercise of rights and have paid party dues at least six times within the year leading up to that date.
Song, who left the party following allegations of distributing money envelopes in 2023, was reinstated in February but has not met the six-month requirement. Kim, who was sentenced to prison for receiving bribes from private developers in the Daejang-dong scandal, reportedly failed to meet the party dues requirement due to the freezing of his accounts during his imprisonment.
The Democratic Party will begin preliminary elections on July 21, aiming to narrow the field to three candidates for party leader and eight candidates for the Supreme Council. Alongside Kim Min-seok, Song Young-gil, and Jung Cheong-rae, Representative Ko Min-jeong and former Gangjin County Council Chair Kim Bo-mi have also declared their candidacies and completed registration.
Representative Ko is intensifying her efforts to target the Honam region, which is expected to play a crucial role in determining the outcome of the party convention. She plans to engage with young people in Muan, Jeollanam-do, and then move to Mokpo to rally support.
Identified with the pro-Moon faction, Ko has taken a cautious stance on the abolition of supplementary investigative powers as part of judicial reform, differentiating herself from Kim Min-seok, Song Young-gil, and Jung Cheong-rae. She believes that some supplementary investigative powers should remain for exceptional cases such as sexual violence. Ko has also signed onto a proposed amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act introduced by Representative Hong Gi-won.
Kim Bo-mi, advocating for generational change, suggested a joint debate among the five candidates the previous day. Following the decision to maintain the candidacies of Song and Kim, she referenced the case of former interim leader Park Ji-hyun, whose candidacy was not realized, stating, 'The principles of the Democratic Party should take precedence over individual circumstances. If the principles applied to youth are to be upheld, they should equally apply to those in their 60s who attended university in the 1980s.' She warned, 'Principles only become meaningful when applied uniformly. If exceptions are made for the privileged while youth are excluded, young people will continue to distance themselves from the Democratic Party.'
* This article has been translated by AI.
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