Democratic Party Anticipates Many Incumbents Running Unopposed... Where Has the Reform Spirit Gone?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Nahum] With about 60% of incumbent lawmakers within the Democratic Party of Korea expected to advance to the general election through 'uncontested primaries,' there are forecasts that the scale of 'purge' will not be significant.

According to the Democratic Party's Nomination Management Committee on the 3rd, out of 475 candidates for the general election within the party, 109 are incumbent lawmakers running for re-election. Excluding 15 who declared they would not run, almost all lawmakers within the party are running.

Among them, 64 candidates have no competitors in the primaries, accounting for about 60%. If no challengers emerge in the future, it is highly likely they will advance to the general election uncontested.

Some within the party express concerns that the purge of incumbents might fail. This outlook is reinforced by the analysis that even lawmakers evaluated in the 'bottom 20%' have firmly decided to run.

Initially, the party leadership expected that if lawmakers listed in the bottom 20% declared they would not run, the scale of the purge would naturally increase. However, after being individually notified on the 28th of last month, none of the bottom 20% lawmakers filed objections within 48 hours. This seems to reflect confidence that they can overturn the evaluation through the 'incumbent premium' and their local base.

There may also be cases where bottom 20% lawmakers are included in uncontested districts, allowing them to walk the 'flower path' directly to the general election regardless of evaluation.

Some point out that the policy of not disclosing the bottom 20% list actually hinders the purge of incumbents. This is because whether a candidate is in the 'bottom 20%' cannot be considered in public opinion polls during the primary process. A Democratic Party official said, "Since only a very small number within the party know about the 'bottom 20%' weakness, the criteria for candidate evaluation by party members and the public become narrower," adding, "Ultimately, the nomination decision will be made based on name recognition."

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party began public opinion surveys to select nomination candidates from the 2nd. The survey score accounts for 40% of the total. The rest are identity (15%), contribution (10%), legislative activity ability (10%), morality (15%), and interviews (10%).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.