Park Yong-jin "We Must Settle the Primary Postponement Controversy... Let's Fight Hard Without Holding Back"

Park Yong-jin, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker. / Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Park Yong-jin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who declared his candidacy for the presidential election, has demanded that the party leadership promptly resolve the controversy over the postponement of the primary election.

At a press conference on the 16th, Park said, "If we proceed with the primary election as it is, our Democratic Party could face difficulties," adding, "I urge the party leadership to quickly settle the debate over postponing the primary schedule, form a presidential planning team, and prepare for a fierce primary by creating a splendid and innovative preliminary primary rule."

He pointed out that according to the current party regulations of the Democratic Party, a preliminary primary must be held when there are seven or more preliminary candidates. He also mentioned that Article 15 of the special party regulations only roughly defines the methods of campaigning in the preliminary primary, such as joint speeches and joint debates, which are allowed during the presidential candidate primary.

Park proposed, "Beyond these simple regulations, I suggest introducing various methods such as broadcast debates, themed debates, and head-to-head debates to boost the excitement of the primary," emphasizing, "There should be at least five joint debates or joint speeches."

He also addressed other prospective candidates, saying, "Let's not be passive or cautious, but fiercely compete from the preliminary primary over the changes in the Democratic Party and the changes in the Republic of Korea."

Furthermore, he argued, "The national opinion poll method targeting only party supporters and independents should be reconsidered with scalability in mind to fit the nature of the presidential election," asserting, "Since the opinions of party supporters are sufficiently reflected in the 50% party member survey, the remaining 50% national opinion poll should be opened to reflect the opinion of the entire nation."

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