Korean Party "Na Kyung-won Nominated for Dongjak-eul, Oh Se-hoon for Gwangjin-gu... 20 Additional Points for Under 34" (Summary)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The Liberty Korea Party's Nomination Management Committee announced on the 13th that it has finalized the single-candidate nominations for constituencies for Representative Na Kyung-won, former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Representative Shin Sang-jin, and former National Assembly Library Director Heo Yong-beom.

Kim Hyung-oh, the chairman of the nomination committee, held a press conference in the National Assembly Members' Office Building meeting room that afternoon and made the announcement. Chairman Kim stated that former Mayor Oh would be nominated for Gwangjin-eul, Representative Na for Dongjak-eul, former Director Heo for Dongdaemun-gap, and Representative Shin for Seongnam Jungwon.

Chairman Kim said, "We began the full-scale interviews starting yesterday, and among the single candidates, the regions of Oh Se-hoon, Na Kyung-won, Heo Yong-beom, and Shin Sang-jin, who was interviewed today for Seongnam Jungwon, have been virtually finalized. As for Yongsan and Paju-gap, there are too many candidates, about 9 to 10, so we cannot conduct opinion polls. We decided to reduce the candidates to 4 or 5 and then conduct the opinion polls."

Additional recruitment will also be conducted. Chairman Kim said, "Although recruitment officially ended on the 5th, we decided to hold additional recruitment again," adding, "At the request of the Unification Promotion Committee, the deadline has been extended until the morning of the 18th." He explained, "We decided to have a single window through our nomination committee, but considering various circumstances, it is acceptable to apply for nomination through the Liberty Korea Party or through the party that will be the target of the unified new party and then submit the application to us."

A bonus point system has also been established, granting a basic score of 20 points for newcomers under the age of 34. Nomination Committee Member Lee In-sil said, "One of the critical issues facing the Liberty Korea Party's crisis situation is that significant changes must be made. Among these is lowering the barriers for youth, political newcomers, women, people with disabilities, North Korean defectors, national merit recipients, and whistleblowers," she explained.

Member Lee said, "The 50% bonus points discussed by the general election planning team are excellent, but even with that, it seems difficult for newcomers to enter, so we decided to give a basic score instead of a ratio. For political newcomers under 34 years old, we will give up to 20 points," she said. She emphasized, "Giving points can cause significant changes depending on whether it is a two-way, three-way, or four-way race. Based on various discussions, we created a scoring table to enable political newcomers, women, and people with disabilities to enter."

Member Lee explained, "For example, if a newcomer received 10% in an opinion poll, under the existing 50% bonus system, it would be 15%, but under the new system, if they receive 10%, they get an additional 20 points, making it 30%."

The nomination results for former representative Hong Joon-pyo and others will be announced after the interviews are completed. Chairman Kim said, "The evaluation has just started, and there are many documents to review, so it takes about a full day. If the evaluation documents have been submitted, how can the nomination committee members decide on the nominations without reviewing those documents?" he questioned.

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