People Power Party Primary Adopts 'Unlimited Debate Without Prepared Speeches'... Excludes Poll-Based Party Support Ratings

by Lim Chunhan

Published 15 Jan.2021 11:45(KST)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy reporters Lee Ji-eun and Lim Chun-han] The People Power Party has adopted a 'script-free unlimited debate' format for the main primary debate and decided to exclude 'party support' questions from the opinion polls.

Jung Jin-seok, the People Power Party's nomination committee chairman, told reporters after the committee meeting on the 15th, "To encourage high-quality debates, we decided to remove the standardized time limits of 1 minute for questions and 3 minutes for answers and instead hold a 30-minute free debate."

At the meeting, the nomination committee decided on the format for the final primary debate stage. The four candidates who advanced to the main primary will participate in three one-on-one standing debates, followed by a joint debate. To facilitate dynamic proceedings, the fixed format of 1-minute questions and 3-minute answers was removed in favor of a 30-minute total time free debate system.

Regarding the rules for conducting opinion polls, in line with the principle of a '100% citizen primary,' it was decided not to ask respondents about party support. The preliminary primary deposit was reduced from the existing 20 million won to 15 million won to ease the burden.

The meeting did not discuss matters related to Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party. Chairman Jung said, "Kim Jong-in, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, has already met with Ahn and proposed two options face-to-face. Ahn has not responded yet, and he may need time to consider." When asked about the 'special clause for participation of non-party figures' in the main primary, he replied, "There is no need to create such a special clause at this time, but it can be made whenever necessary."