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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

South Korea’s People Power Party limits direct member elections to vacant local chapters

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • The People Power Party will retain its existing selection process for regular local chapter elections while using direct member votes at vacant or suspended chapters when multiple candidates apply.
  • The party also plans to revise its rules and require member evaluations to account for 50% of chapter chiefs’ assessments during its December audit.
  • Some senior lawmakers warned that the approach could intensify factional conflict and widen the gap between party members and the broader electorate.

The People Power Party has backed away from immediate nationwide direct elections for local chapter chiefs, limiting the new system at first to 34 chapters without permanent leaders.

We considered the full introduction of direct elections by party members for the regular selection of local chapter chiefs, but decided to introduce it gradually and in stages after reflecting internal party views.

— Jung Hee-yongThe party secretary-general announced the revised rollout plan.

Secretary-General Jung Hee-yong said the party had considered applying direct elections to all local chapters but decided on a gradual rollout after hearing objections at lawmakers’ meetings. Chapters whose leaders’ terms expire will continue using their existing selection process. Vacant chapters, including those where a leader’s party membership rights have been suspended, will open applications and hold a direct member vote if more than one candidate applies.

The leadership also plans to amend party rules to reflect both members’ preferences and broader public opinion. During the regular party affairs audit in December, member evaluations will make up 50% of the assessment of local chapter chiefs.

The format looks like a retreat by Jang, but in substance it has been carried through.

— Unnamed senior lawmaker from the Seoul metropolitan areaThe lawmaker assessed the leadership’s decision to limit direct elections.

The decision follows an initiative by party leader Jang Dong-hyuk to give party members a direct role in choosing chapter chiefs, including incumbent lawmakers. Opponents feared that hard-line members could use the system to remove large numbers of current officials. No public revolt emerged at the leadership meeting, but senior lawmakers continued to voice concerns privately.

They have planted the seeds of division.

— Unnamed senior lawmaker from the Seoul metropolitan areaThe lawmaker warned about nomination contests in districts with suspended lawmakers.

One senior lawmaker from the Seoul metropolitan area said the leadership’s retreat appeared mostly procedural and warned that new candidates could emerge in districts held by lawmakers whose party rights had been suspended, creating nomination battles ahead of the general election. A senior lawmaker from the southeastern Yeongnam region questioned whether the leadership was giving up on electoral victory despite knowing that the gap between party sentiment and public sentiment was serious.

Are they ultimately giving up on winning the election?

— Unnamed senior lawmaker from the Yeongnam regionThe lawmaker criticized the possible gap between party-member preferences and public opinion.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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