Jang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, is facing difficulties with the direct election of organizational chairs from the start. This follows issues during the final vote for the Yongin Gap organizational chair, where some responsible party members did not receive automated response (ARS) voting calls. Although Jang has decided on a 're-vote,' there are calls for a thorough investigation first.
The Special Committee for Organizational Strengthening (조강특위) held a meeting on the 13th and decided to conduct a re-vote for the Yongin Gap organizational chair election. This decision comes after it was confirmed that a specific telecommunications company's ad-blocking feature limited some party members' voting opportunities during the final vote held on the 8th.
The committee stated, "The re-vote will be conducted using the same ARS method for all responsible party members in the region," adding that they will work with the telecommunications company to implement necessary technical measures to prevent a recurrence of the issue.
Additionally, the committee plans to inform candidates Yoon Jae-bok and Yang Hyang-ja about the investigation results, re-vote schedule, and procedures on the 15th. The re-vote is set for the 18th.
Yoon, who was initially elected in the final vote, is considered a supporter of Jang. Analysts suggest that Jang's decision to proceed with a re-vote, despite Yoon's election, stems from concerns about the infringement of party members' voting rights. Following the local elections on June 3, Jang has been vocal in criticizing the violation of voting rights, asserting that this incident also reflects a failure to protect the rights of some party members.
In a Facebook post the day before, Jang stated, "If party members' voting rights were infringed due to system issues, we must correct this. This is a matter of electoral fairness, regardless of the number of members unable to vote or the impact on the election results. We have no choice but to conduct a re-vote for the final election." Yoon also accepted the re-vote decision, saying, "In a party that values the sovereignty of its members, if even one person's voting rights have been violated, we must rectify it."
Conversely, Yang and Supreme Committee member Woo Jae-jun argue that a thorough investigation must precede the re-vote. They contend that similar issues may have occurred in the first round of the Yongin Gap primary or in other party member council elections, and simply redoing the Yongin Gap final vote is insufficient.
Following the re-vote decision, Yang expressed on Facebook, "To proceed with the final vote again without a proper investigation is hasty and illogical. Forcing the final vote does not help solve the problem or improve the system."
Woo also stated, "Since the same system was used not only in the Yongin Gap final but also in the preliminary and other party council elections, we need to verify whether the same issues occurred elsewhere. It is difficult to accept proceeding with a re-election using the same system without an investigation and explanation of the facts."
The direct election of organizational chairs, which has faced challenges, is a key initiative pushed by Jang. He previously advocated for expanding party members' authority by allowing them to elect organizational chairs based on their opinions. However, facing internal opposition, he has scaled back the initiative to apply only to the affected party councils. As a result, there are concerns that prolonged issues could negatively impact the full implementation of direct elections for party members in the future.
Meanwhile, if there are no variables, the organizational chair will become the party council chair. The party council chair can exert influence in future general elections, making this organizational chair election effectively a 'preliminary round' for general election nominations. The committee had previously conducted a call for organizational chair candidates in 36 affected party councils, selecting a single candidate in 17 of those and proceeding with elections in 9.
The Special Committee for Organizational Strengthening (조강특위) held a meeting on the 13th and decided to conduct a re-vote for the Yongin Gap organizational chair election. This decision comes after it was confirmed that a specific telecommunications company's ad-blocking feature limited some party members' voting opportunities during the final vote held on the 8th.
The committee stated, "The re-vote will be conducted using the same ARS method for all responsible party members in the region," adding that they will work with the telecommunications company to implement necessary technical measures to prevent a recurrence of the issue.
Additionally, the committee plans to inform candidates Yoon Jae-bok and Yang Hyang-ja about the investigation results, re-vote schedule, and procedures on the 15th. The re-vote is set for the 18th.
Yoon, who was initially elected in the final vote, is considered a supporter of Jang. Analysts suggest that Jang's decision to proceed with a re-vote, despite Yoon's election, stems from concerns about the infringement of party members' voting rights. Following the local elections on June 3, Jang has been vocal in criticizing the violation of voting rights, asserting that this incident also reflects a failure to protect the rights of some party members.
In a Facebook post the day before, Jang stated, "If party members' voting rights were infringed due to system issues, we must correct this. This is a matter of electoral fairness, regardless of the number of members unable to vote or the impact on the election results. We have no choice but to conduct a re-vote for the final election." Yoon also accepted the re-vote decision, saying, "In a party that values the sovereignty of its members, if even one person's voting rights have been violated, we must rectify it."
Conversely, Yang and Supreme Committee member Woo Jae-jun argue that a thorough investigation must precede the re-vote. They contend that similar issues may have occurred in the first round of the Yongin Gap primary or in other party member council elections, and simply redoing the Yongin Gap final vote is insufficient.
Following the re-vote decision, Yang expressed on Facebook, "To proceed with the final vote again without a proper investigation is hasty and illogical. Forcing the final vote does not help solve the problem or improve the system."
Woo also stated, "Since the same system was used not only in the Yongin Gap final but also in the preliminary and other party council elections, we need to verify whether the same issues occurred elsewhere. It is difficult to accept proceeding with a re-election using the same system without an investigation and explanation of the facts."
The direct election of organizational chairs, which has faced challenges, is a key initiative pushed by Jang. He previously advocated for expanding party members' authority by allowing them to elect organizational chairs based on their opinions. However, facing internal opposition, he has scaled back the initiative to apply only to the affected party councils. As a result, there are concerns that prolonged issues could negatively impact the full implementation of direct elections for party members in the future.
Meanwhile, if there are no variables, the organizational chair will become the party council chair. The party council chair can exert influence in future general elections, making this organizational chair election effectively a 'preliminary round' for general election nominations. The committee had previously conducted a call for organizational chair candidates in 36 affected party councils, selecting a single candidate in 17 of those and proceeding with elections in 9.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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