Kim Hyung-o "Will pledge 30% salary cut and grant nomination"... Lee Jun-seok, Kim Byung-min, Kim Jae-seop nomination (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The Future United Party's nomination committee has decided to require candidates receiving nominations to pledge a 'salary cut.' The party's rules will be amended to mandate the full return of salaries if candidates make hateful remarks or damage their dignity. Seemingly mindful of the recent 'strategic nomination controversy,' the committee also firmly stated that they will not automatically grant nominations to those coming from other parties.

On the 26th, Kim Hyung-o, the chairman of the nomination committee, held a press conference and stated, "We have decided to award nomination certificates only after receiving a pledge from candidates that they will comply with the following conditions if they become members of the National Assembly."

The pledge includes three main points: ▲ Leading efforts to reduce budget expenses associated with performing the duties of a National Assembly member ▲ Returning the full salary if hateful remarks or actions that damage dignity occur ▲ Upholding representative democracy and strongly fighting against any behavior that contradicts it, regardless of party affiliation.

Chairman Kim explained, "As part of reducing budget expenses, we will push for legislation to cut National Assembly members' salaries, and until such legislation is enacted, candidates will be required to donate 30% of their salary in advance. Additionally, the current staff of nine aides will be reduced, and the number of personnel in the legislative research office and budget policy office, which support National Assembly members, will be increased accordingly to expand policy support." He added that this pledge was introduced due to the deep public distrust of the National Assembly, stating, "We will strengthen the National Assembly Ethics Committee and the party's ethics committee to prevent hateful remarks."

Chairman Kim also addressed the recent strategic nomination controversy in the Busan region, saying, "We will neither automatically nominate those recruited externally from other parties or camps nor automatically dismiss party district chiefs who have worked hard in their regions." He emphasized, "We will thoroughly examine the roles all hopeful candidates have played in the past three years during another democratization struggle. We must remember those who risked everything when the world was in turmoil and the country was heading in the wrong direction."

Regarding candidate primaries, he said, "We will select good candidates through thorough and strict management, but primaries are not a cure-all. Primaries with different or specialized conditions will not bring about the party's change and reform but will appear to cling to the old order." Chairman Kim reiterated the importance of innovative and reformist nominations, stating, "Innovative nominations and winning nominations are two sides of the same coin. For the party's victory, I will innovate and step down first, so there must be more voices calling for reform to achieve victory." He also expressed respect for the wishes of lawmakers who declared they would not run and said he would discuss their successors in their constituencies.

Regarding those who have requested a reconsideration of the nomination results, he said individual contacts have been completed. Vice Chairman Lee Seok-yeon said, "We are reviewing requests as they come in. Even today, before the meeting started, the reconsideration committee convened and completed reviews, and the results are being promptly communicated to those who requested reconsideration." He mentioned that notification has been completed for Lee Eun-jae, a Future United Party lawmaker who was the first incumbent to request reconsideration, but refrained from commenting on the results. Having completed interviews for all regions except Daegu and Gyeongbuk, he added that the review results will be announced sequentially starting tomorrow.

On this day, the nomination committee announced some youth nomination results. Nomination committee member Choi Yeon-woo said, "Young candidates with innovative DNA who will change the National Assembly will challenge mainly in the metropolitan area and win." He added, "Youth candidates are the future of the Future United Party, so we will call them 'Future Makers' (FM)." He announced the nomination of three representative FMs: Kim Byung-min of Gwangjin-gu Gap, Lee Jun-seok of Nowon-gu Gap, and Kim Jae-seop of Dobong-gu Gap, and said additional FMs will be disclosed in the future.

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