Dongducheon civic group seeks law to block 'opportunistic party switching' for council leadership

A legislative petition movement has begun in Dongducheon to curb "opportunistic party switching" by local council members seeking leadership posts. The initiative by the Gyeonggi Northern Peace Civic Action and the Dongducheon Local Autonomy Administration Watch Group aims to amend election, party, and local autonomy laws.

The movement was triggered when Lim Hyun-sook, a Dongducheon city council member elected under the Democratic Party's nomination, defected to the People Power Party just before the council chair election. She then secured the chairmanship with votes from People Power Party members, sparking public outcry.

The proposed amendments would mandate that local council members elected through party nominations disclose any party changes or defections shortly after the start of their term or around the time of leadership elections. The draft legislation also seeks to prohibit such members from running for council chair, vice-chair, or standing committee chair for a specified period. If already elected to such a position, they would lose the post.

Currently, proportional representation council members lose their seats if they leave their party, but district representatives retain their positions. There are no existing regulations linking party affiliation changes to eligibility for leadership roles. Similar controversies over party switching to secure leadership positions have occurred in other local councils, including Sacheon, Jeungpyeong, Yangcheon, and Yeonsu.

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The intention is not to prevent the freedom to leave a party, but to prevent the use of a position gained through party nomination to secure the post of council chair.