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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

Democratic Party Forms Election Review Committee, Vows Introspection

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • The Democratic Party has formed a committee to evaluate the results of the June 3 local elections and upcoming by-elections.
  • The committee aims to conduct a self-reflective assessment, focusing on lessons learned for future success rather than assigning blame.
  • Key areas of focus include analyzing voter support among young demographics in Daegu and understanding the factors behind the party's success in Gangwon Province.

The Democratic Party convened its first meeting of the "June 3 Local Elections and National Assembly By-election Results Evaluation Committee" on Tuesday. The committee, co-chaired by Lee Jae-young, president of the Democratic Institute, and Hong Chang-min, former chair of the Seoul party's candidate recommendation committee, emphasized a commitment to self-reflection over blame.

The starting point for evaluating elections is introspection, not self-criticism.

— Lee Jae-young, Co-chair of the Evaluation CommitteeSetting the tone for the committee's self-reflective approach.

"The starting point for evaluating elections is introspection, not self-criticism," Lee stated during the meeting. "We will humbly summarize our achievements and honestly acknowledge our shortcomings, turning lessons learned into assets for the future."

The committee comprises nine members, including youth leaders, political consultants, and academics. Lee Yeon-hee, who will serve as the committee's secretary, outlined plans to interview campaign officials and elected representatives. The evaluation will delve into the reasons for victory in some regions and defeat in others, with a particular focus on understanding the increased support among voters aged 20 and 30 in the Daegu mayoral election and the factors contributing to the party's strong performance in Gangwon Province.

We will humbly summarize our achievements and honestly acknowledge our shortcomings, turning lessons learned into assets for the future.

— Lee Jae-young, Co-chair of the Evaluation CommitteeEmphasizing the committee's goal of learning from past performance.

Lee Yeon-hee stressed that the evaluation process prioritizes "integration" and "external expansion." She stated, "Election evaluation should not be a process of conflict to assign responsibility, but a search for lessons for better victories. What is needed is not a debate over responsibility, but introspection; not division, but integration; not exclusion, but expansion."

We will examine the factors behind the increase in support from voters in their 20s and 30s in the Daegu mayoral election.

— Lee Yeon-hee, Committee SecretaryHighlighting a specific area of focus for the evaluation.

The committee is scheduled to operate for 15 weeks, concluding in late September. The extended timeframe, initially planned for eight weeks, was deemed necessary due to the extensive scope of the evaluation. The final assessment will be compiled into a white paper.

Election evaluation should not be a process of conflict to assign responsibility, but a search for lessons for better victories.

— Lee Yeon-hee, Committee SecretaryDefining the committee's objective as constructive learning.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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