The Democratic Party Abolishes Penalties for Incumbent National Assembly Members Running for Seoul and Busan Mayor Nominations... Could It Backfire?

Democratic Party Virtually Abolishes 'Disadvantage in Nominating Incumbent Lawmakers for Metropolitan Mayor'
Women's Groups "Democratic Party Must Immediately Withdraw By-election Candidate Nomination Decision"
Experts "Regardless of Criticism, It Is Seen as 'Receiving Support from the Majority of the People'"

On the morning of the 9th, Park Jae-ho, Chairman of the Busan Democratic Party, and regional committee members are issuing a public apology and statement regarding the Busan mayoral by-election in front of Busan City Hall, and offering their apologies. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] The Democratic Party of Korea is facing criticism from citizens after reportedly virtually abolishing the rule that imposed nomination disadvantages on elected officials who resigned mid-term to run for office, but only for metropolitan mayoral elections. This comes as by-elections scheduled for April next year are being held due to issues such as sexual harassment allegations against the late former Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don. Additionally, if an elected official resigns mid-term to run for office, the respective region must also hold a by-election. Some citizens argue that the Democratic Party’s insistence on nominations could instead provoke backlash.

It was reported on the 8th that the Democratic Party deleted part of the nomination disadvantage rule, which was applied to incumbent members of the National Assembly who resigned to run for elections, limiting the change only to metropolitan mayoral elections. Ahead of the party convention on August 29, the party amended its regulations on August 19 to exempt "cases where candidates run for metropolitan mayoral elections" from the vote deduction rule.

According to a rule established in 2015, elected officials such as local councilors, heads of local governments, and members of the National Assembly who did not complete three-quarters of their term and participated in candidate primaries for other elections (excluding presidential elections) had their vote counts reduced. The deduction rate, which was previously 10%, was increased to 25% last year.

However, with the amendment allowing incumbent National Assembly members to run in the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections without penalty, concerns among citizens have grown. If an incumbent lawmaker resigns to run for metropolitan mayor, the region must hold a by-election in April next year. This could lead to waste of tax money and administrative resources, which critics say contradicts the "responsible politics" emphasized by the Democratic Party.

Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon stated on the 29th of last month regarding the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections, "After listening to opinions inside and outside the party for a long time, I came to the conclusion that not fielding a candidate is not the only responsible choice, and rather, being judged through nominations is the responsible course of action." He added, "There were also criticisms that not nominating a candidate, despite pure intentions, excessively restricts voters' right to choose."

Especially amid the recent series of sexual misconduct issues involving local government heads affiliated with the party, there are calls for prioritizing apologies to victims and measures to prevent recurrence. Critics argue that the Democratic Party’s move to justify these nominations could instead provoke public backlash.

Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 9th. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 9th, four local women’s organizations, including the Busan Women’s Association Council, held a press conference in front of Busan City Hall, stating, "The Democratic Party decided to nominate candidates for the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections through a party member vote amendment. This is a clear contradiction and an act of covering the sky with one’s palm." They criticized, "In Lee Nak-yeon’s recent apology during his visit to Busan, there was no mention of fundamental reflection on sexual violence incidents or measures to prevent recurrence."

They continued, "We want to ask what the responsible role of a political party is when the investigation of sexual violence incidents and realization of gender equality are missing," and urged, "Our judgment on irresponsible politics without reflection or introspection has already been made. The Democratic Party must immediately withdraw its decision to nominate candidates for the by-elections."

Criticism also came from opposition parties against the Democratic Party’s amendment of party rules to reverse the 'no nomination' stance.

Kim Jong-in, Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, strongly criticized at an emergency press conference held at the National Assembly on the 1st, condemning the Democratic Party’s "shameless nomination flip-flop." He said, "The April next year Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections are caused by sexual harassment scandals involving ruling party mayors, and now they are amending party rules to force nominations for these by-elections. This is truly outrageous."

Kim emphasized, "Nominating candidates for the by-elections itself is a third victimization of the victims of power-based sexual violence," and added, "The ruling party should sincerely apologize for continuously committing secondary victimization against victims of power-based sexual violence through the power it holds."

Meanwhile, a public opinion poll showed a high level of negative evaluation regarding the Democratic Party’s nomination decision.

According to a survey conducted by Gallup Korea from the 3rd to the 5th among 1,002 adults nationwide aged 18 and older, 39% of respondents said the Democratic Party’s decision to nominate candidates for the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections through a party-wide vote was "wrong." Meanwhile, 34% said it was "right," and 28% responded "don’t know/refused to answer."

Experts believe the Democratic Party is pushing forward with nominations because it judges that public opinion will not significantly affect election results.

Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon analyzed, "They see that citizens’ criticism does not greatly influence election outcomes."

He explained, "During the previous proportional satellite party incident, which was also baseless, criticism from the media and experts continued, yet the election results were a landslide victory. (Therefore, the Democratic Party) now seems to think that such criticism is not important. They appear confident that the majority of the public will still support them."

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