'Complete Preliminary Primary', 'Rookie Finalist Spot'... People Power Party to Finalize Primary Rules Today

Kim Sang-hoon, a member of the People Power Party and the chairman of the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-election primary preparation committee, is attending the first meeting of the primary preparation committee held at the National Assembly on the 15th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The People Power Party will tentatively finalize the internal primary rules on the 12th to select candidates for the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections scheduled for April next year. This comes one month after forming the Re-By-election Primary Preparation Committee on the 12th of last month. The committee plans to hold a meeting at 11 a.m. on the same day to make the final decision on the primary method, including the ratio of citizen vote reflection.

The outline is roughly set. The committee is considering a method where a preliminary primary is held among 10 candidates, and 4 to 5 of them face off again in the final round (main primary). The key issue is the proportion of party members' votes versus general citizens' votes. The existing ratio of '50% party member vote, 50% national opinion poll' is expected to be revised to significantly increase the voting weight of general citizens. It is likely that 100% will be applied in the preliminary primary and 80% in the final primary.

One committee member said, "Completely excluding party sentiment (黨心) is tantamount to denying party politics," adding, "However, by greatly reducing its weight, we have created an environment where the candidate who gains the people's sentiment can become the nominee."

During the committee meeting, detailed discussions are expected on how far to recognize party members whose votes will be reflected. It is known that granting voting rights to all responsible party members in the Seoul and Busan regions who pay party dues is a likely option. A committee official said, "There are many cases where party membership is hastily created before elections, and dues are paid all at once," adding, "If this is not properly designed and standards are not set, it could turn into a muddy mess."

There is also consideration of granting automatic advancement rights to political newcomers for the final round. The idea is to allocate one of the 4 to 5 final round spots to a political newcomer, thereby encouraging candidacy by providing bold opportunities. A committee official said, "If multiple political newcomers run, we are considering a method to guarantee the final round spot to the one who scores the highest among them."

Since the candidacy of incumbent lawmakers will not be excluded, it appears that penalties such as point deductions will not be applied. The contentious issue of additional points for women is likely to be left to the nomination management committee without finalizing specific details. While the majority opinion within the committee favors applying additional points for women only in the preliminary primary, it is known that the consensus is to make the final decision after the candidate lineup is finalized.

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