Citizen Party Revises Twin Bus Plan... Joint Pledge Continues

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] The Democratic Party of Korea and the Together Citizens Party, which received a corrective recommendation from the National Election Commission for their 'twin buses,' are expected to face controversy as they continue to hold 'joint pledge announcements.'

Following the previous day, the Democratic Party and the Citizens Party will hold a joint general election pledge announcement at the National Assembly on the morning of the 6th. Democratic Party candidate Han Jeong-ae and Citizens Party proportional representation candidate Lee Su-jin, among others, will participate in a one-on-one format. A Democratic Party official explained the joint pledge announcement ceremony as "an event where candidates from the two parties with similar areas of expertise present pledges they will jointly pursue in the 21st National Assembly."

The two parties announced a win-win pledge for self-employed and small business owners at the National Assembly communication center the previous day, including measures to alleviate delivery app commission fees such as those of Baedal Minjok. Democratic Party lawmaker Ahn Gyu-baek and Citizens Party candidate Kim Byung-joo participated together. Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Sang-min and Citizens Party candidate Choi Hye-young unveiled policies to strengthen support for the independence of persons with disabilities. Earlier, the Citizens Party submitted its 'Top 10 Pledges' registered with the Election Commission on the 1st in the same order and content as the Democratic Party's pledges, causing controversy. This led to an incident where the Citizens Party had to revise some pledges.

The Election Commission stated that regarding the joint pledge announcements, "Press conferences held as part of policy alliances or joint pledge announcements do not violate election laws." However, they plan to closely monitor the events because encouraging votes for the opposing party during joint events could violate the Public Official Election Act. An Election Commission official explained, "If a press conference encourages voting for the opposing party or promotes the opposing party, it could be problematic."

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party and the Citizens Party decided to modify the design of the controversial twin buses. On the afternoon of the 5th, the Citizens Party unveiled a new bus design without party numbers, featuring phrases such as "Together Citizens Party with the Moon Jae-in Government" and "Protecting the People! Together Citizens Party." Initially, a campaign bus displaying the Democratic Party's number 1 and the Citizens Party's number 5 together was revealed, but the Election Commission requested correction, stating, "It appears to be a facility that influences the election under election law." Although the Democratic Party and the Citizens Party jointly issued a statement protesting that "freedom of expression was excessively infringed," they ultimately accepted the Election Commission's recommendation.

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