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Democratic Party's top committee in public clash over 'birth month' voting strategy
🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

Democratic Party's top committee in public clash over 'birth month' voting strategy

From Dong-A Ilbo · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • Rival factions within South Korea's Democratic Party clashed publicly over voting guidelines for the upcoming party leadership election.
  • The dispute centers on a strategy encouraging supporters to vote for specific candidates based on their birth month, which one faction calls divisive.
  • Tensions also flared over the separate election of a youth supreme council member and the increased candidate registration fees.

Public bickering erupted within South Korea's Democratic Party as factions vied for control ahead of the August 17 national convention. The core of the conflict lies in a "birth month voting strategy" allegedly promoted by supporters of former party leader Lee Jae-myung, which aims to distribute votes among three favored candidates for supreme council positions. Supreme Council member Hwang Myung-seon, aligned with the Lee faction, criticized this tactic as "factional politics" that treats party members as mere vote counts rather than sovereign participants.

Some candidates are encouraging supporters to vote for specific candidates based on their birth month, and we must stop this blatant factional politics ahead of the national convention.

— Hwang Myung-seonSupreme Council member Hwang Myung-seon criticizing the alleged voting strategy during a party meeting.

"This idea of dividing votes based on birthdays is arrogance," Hwang stated during a supreme council meeting, accusing the opposing camp of prioritizing personal gain over party unity. He argued that such blatant "pairing" of votes was a "vile practice" and questioned the fairness of the process.

This idea of dividing votes based on birthdays is arrogance. It treats party members as mere numbers, not as sovereign individuals.

— Hwang Myung-seonHwang Myung-seon further elaborating on his criticism of the voting strategy.

Adding fuel to the fire, the failure to elect a separate youth supreme council member also sparked renewed accusations. Kang Deuk-gu, another supreme council member, lamented the party's policies, suggesting they alienate young members despite rhetoric to the contrary. He pointed to the quadrupled registration fees for candidates as a particularly harsh blow to younger aspirants.

Blatant pairing is a vile practice. It's not a birthday celebration, what is this?

— Kim Min-seokDemocratic Party leadership candidate Kim Min-seok criticizing the voting strategy during a joint rally.

However, Moon Jung-bok, a supreme council member from the opposing faction, refuted these claims. She asserted that no one sought to exclude youth and that the proposed changes were impractical given the proximity of the convention. Moon accused her rivals of spreading "fake frames" to sow discord among party members and the public, urging them to cease such divisive actions.

It's something that has always happened. I know the other side is doing it too, and party members are voluntarily creating their own strategies. We cannot blame them for that.

— Jeong Cheong-raeFormer party leader Jeong Cheong-rae dismissing the criticism as typical electioneering.
DistantNews Editorial

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

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