Democratic Party to Hold 'Online Primary'... "Conducted with Minimal Staff at Party Headquarters"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] The Democratic Party of Korea has decided to hold the party convention scheduled for the 29th online. Instead of the originally planned Olympic Gymnastics Arena, only a minimum number of people, including candidates, fewer than 50, will gather at the Yeouido party headquarters to conduct online voting and live streaming.

Jang Cheol-min, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea’s National Delegate Convention Preparation Committee, held a briefing at the National Assembly Communication Office on the morning of the 19th and said, "Due to the implementation of social distancing level 2, the party convention on the 29th will be held at the party headquarters with a minimum number of people instead of the Gymnastics Arena."

He added, "Originally, the chairperson of the delegate convention should be elected on the day, but the Central Committee held a meeting a day earlier (on the 28th) to decide on the election of the chairperson and amendments to the party platform, and on the day of the convention, only the election of the leadership and amendments to the special presidential election party rules will be conducted swiftly."

He also said, "There is almost no change in speeches and debates conducted via broadcast or online," and added, "Whether to hold a joint online speech meeting for the Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon regions will be discussed at the Central Party Election Commission meeting at 2:30 p.m. today."

Regarding the 50 people attending the party convention on the day, Spokesperson Jang said, "Except for the candidates, only essential staff will be present," adding, "This will include the chairperson and vice-chairperson of the delegate meeting, a very small number of party officials, and a few full-time reporters, while central committee members will not attend at all."

He emphasized, "It will be a completely online party convention," and added, "I would like to additionally mention that the Democratic Party has built a platform that other parties cannot attempt, which makes the online party convention possible."

Regarding the Democratic Party representative candidate Lee Nak-yeon waiting for COVID-19 test results, he said, "There is nothing to report yet. The preparation committee has not officially discussed this."

When asked if there would be any changes to the party convention schedule if social distancing is raised to level 3, he replied, "Yes, we will proceed at the party headquarters."

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