People Power Party Primary Preparation Committee to Begin Full Discussions on 'Primary Rules' Next Week... Kim Jong-in Luncheon Also Scheduled

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The People Power Party's Primary Preparation Committee is rapidly advancing the work on the 'primary rules' to select candidates for next year's by-elections for the Seoul and Busan mayoral positions. It has been confirmed that a public hearing will be held in Busan on the 30th, and a meeting with Emergency Response Committee Chairman Kim Jong-in is scheduled for next Monday. While opinions on the primary rules are being expressed in a 'hundred schools of thought contend' manner, full-scale discussions are expected to begin next week.

The Primary Preparation Committee, launched on the 12th, has held meetings four times in total, every Monday and Thursday. Although the committee faced difficulties in conducting meetings after Yeouido Research Institute Director Ji Sang-wook and Secretary-General Kim Seon-dong resigned while leaving open the possibility of running for Seoul mayor immediately after its launch, it appears to be accelerating discussions with the goal of finalizing the 'candidate primary rules' by mid-November.

A public hearing for Busan citizens will be held on the 30th. The purpose is to listen candidly to what Busan citizens want in a candidate. One committee member said, "We agreed to do this boldly without a script or scenario so that citizens can say whatever they want, not a prearranged script. We decided not to suppress unrefined expressions and to hear real stories," describing the atmosphere. A public hearing for Seoul citizens is planned for early next month.

The core issue is the discussion of the 'primary rules.' Committee Chairman Kim Sang-hoon emphasizes that new figures and people outside the party should also participate in the primary, and that the rules should ensure they are not merely figureheads. The suggestion to increase the proportion of citizen votes relative to party members to better reflect public opinion is closely related to this. It would also allow relatively more freedom from the control of local district lawmakers or party branch chiefs.

It is known that committee members all agree on expanding the proportion of citizen votes. However, there may be disagreements during the discussion of detailed rules, such as how to adjust the candidate selection ratio of 50% party members and 50% general public, and how to conduct the general public voting.

At the meeting on the 22nd, committee members shared opinions on the direction of candidate selection. Opinions such as "the will for gender equality is important" and "public sentiment from youth and professional sectors should be reflected" were raised. It was also reported that there were opinions suggesting that the primary methods for Seoul and Busan mayoral candidates should differ.

On the 26th, a lunch meeting with Chairman Kim Jong-in will be held. A committee official said, "It will be an opportunity to exchange opinions on the direction of candidate selection," adding, "Substantive discussions are expected to take place after that."

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