Democratic Party Cancels All Leadership Schedules... Party Convention Expected to Proceed as Planned

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] The Democratic Party of Korea has canceled all leadership schedules following the news of Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon's death. However, the party's national convention, scheduled for the 29th of next month, is expected to proceed as planned.

On the 10th, the Democratic Party canceled the high-level party-government meeting on real estate measures, which was scheduled for 7:30 a.m. that day. Party leader Lee Hae-chan and floor leader Kim Tae-nyeon also canceled all other scheduled events, including the budget policy meeting for Sejong, Daejeon, Chungbuk, and Chungnam, as well as the SK Bioscience research institute development schedule, except for paying respects to Mayor Park. The Democratic Party stated, "All schedules except for the morning supreme council meeting have been canceled," adding, "Leader Lee is scheduled to pay respects at the mayor's funeral hall around noon."

Lawmakers Lee Nak-yeon and former lawmaker Kim Boo-kyum, who had been actively campaigning for the party leadership election, also canceled all their schedules. Lee's office stated, "Once the funeral procedures and methods are announced, Lee plans to visit the mayor's funeral hall to pay respects." Kim's office also said, "Internal discussions are underway to tentatively cancel all candidate schedules until the funeral arrangements are completed." The scheduled declarations of candidacy by supreme council candidates next week are also being canceled or postponed.

This 'all-stop' by the Democratic Party is interpreted as a response to concerns about the shockwave this incident may cause and its potential impact on future approval ratings. A Democratic Party official said, "There is concern that this incident could affect future approval ratings. We are being cautious with all statements and actions." On the party's rights members' bulletin board, posts such as "The Democratic Party should not officially mourn," "Is a five-day funeral for the mayor reasonable?" and "Did women in their 20s and 30s vote for the Democratic Party for this reason?" have appeared.

However, the national convention is expected to proceed as scheduled. Since Mayor Park's death means that the sexual harassment allegations reported by his secretary are likely to be closed by the police as 'no prosecution' under Article 69 of the Prosecutor's Office Case Handling Rules, the Democratic Party official said, "There have been no discussions yet regarding changes to the national convention schedule."

Meanwhile, the positions of leadership candidates Lee and Kim regarding Mayor Park showed differences. While Lee did not make a specific statement until the morning, Kim posted on his Facebook, "I am deeply saddened by the sudden passing," adding, "The late human rights lawyer contributed to the development of Korean democracy and the progress of Seoul. I pray that he now rests peacefully, having laid everything down."

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