Hong Jun-pyo Also "Respects Election Commission Agreement"... Primary Rule Conflict Settled but 'Embers' Remain

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Naju-seok and Geum Bo-ryeong] Hong Jun-pyo, a presidential candidate from the People Power Party, stated on the 6th, "Although the issue remains sensitive, I will respect the unanimous agreement of all election commission members."

With Hong’s final acceptance of the Election Commission’s decision, the controversy over the primary rules, including the introduction of the ‘reverse selection prevention clause’ that had divided the People Power Party candidates into two camps, has been settled for now. Former lawmakers Yoo Seung-min and Ha Tae-kyung, who opposed the reverse selection prevention clause like Hong, had already expressed their intention to respect the commission’s agreement the day before. Former lawmaker Jang Sung-min and former Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-seo also announced their acceptance of the commission’s decision one after another.

However, concerns have already emerged that additional controversies may arise over the survey questions ahead of the final primary.

The day before, the Election Commission agreed unanimously not to apply the reverse selection prevention clause but to reflect party support (from 0% to 20%) in the first cutoff of the primary rules and proposed a plan to ask about ‘general election competitiveness’ in the final primary.

Nevertheless, some observers believe that the conflict has only been temporarily patched up. In the third primary, which proceeds with only the final four candidates, public opinion polls account for 50%, but much about the survey questions remains undecided except for the direction of a ‘competitiveness survey.’ It has only been mentioned that the questions will ask about one-on-one competitiveness against the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate. Because of this, there are concerns that the gains and losses for each candidate could vary depending on the question format and design.

A representative from Hong’s camp said, "There have been moves interpreted as attempts to create an environment favorable to certain candidates during the primary," adding, "We are worried about the possibility of internal strife again because we don’t know what kind of questions will be asked in the main primary." Lawmaker Ha also appeared on a radio show and pointed out, "The survey questions were also problematic in the last Seoul mayoral election," and criticized, "The fact that detailed rules keep being decided during the game (primary) is a chronic problem in politics."

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