"Sasa-oip" vs "No Problem" In Front of the Democratic Party Headquarters: Lee Nak-yeon and Lee Jae-myung, Diverging Public Opinions

Conflict with Party Election Commission over Invalid Ballot Handling Involving Lee Nak-yeon
Citizens Near Democratic Party Headquarters Say "Lee Nak-yeon's Claim Is Valid... Don't Understand the Calculation Changing the Number of Votes"
Party Election Commission States "Final Candidate Selection Is Exclusive Authority of Election Commission... Will Maintain Existing Position"
Democratic Party Announces "Legal Interpretation on Invalid Ballot Handling to Be Conducted Today (13th)"

An LED truck with the phrase "Oppose Sasa-oip" written on it, wandering near the Democratic Party headquarters on the afternoon of the 12th. Photo by Yoon Seulgi seul97@asiae.co.kr

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] "I don't understand changing the base number.", "It seems like a calculation method favorable to Lee Jae-myung."

Although Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung was selected as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, concerns about 'post-primary election aftereffects' are growing as former party leader Lee Nak-yeon raised objections to the party's election commission's interpretation of invalid votes. Supporters of former leader Lee held a protest rally in front of the Democratic Party headquarters, claiming the calculation method favored a specific candidate. On the afternoon of the 12th, the day after the rally, the area in front of the Democratic Party headquarters was calm, but numerous police officers were stationed around, possibly due to the aftermath of the previous day's protest.

A self-employed man in his 50s, A, who appeared to be hearing-impaired and was met near the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, pointed towards the party building with his finger and said many people had come the previous evening. When asked about the confusion over invalid votes, he expressed that Lee Nak-yeon's side's claims seemed more reasonable.

B, a female merchant in her 60s selling accessories from a tent in an alley across the street, said, "I don't understand changing the base number arbitrarily without recognizing the votes received by the withdrawn candidates to decide the presidential candidate," and added, "I think Lee Nak-yeon's statement that the votes received by the withdrawn candidates should be recognized is correct."

On the afternoon of the 12th, in front of the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Seulgi Yoon seul97@asiae.co.kr

C, a building manager in his 70s working near the Democratic Party headquarters, said, "I saw through the newspaper that Lee Jae-myung became the candidate," but added, "I am not interested in the Democratic Party primary."

Meanwhile, an LED vehicle prepared by the 'Judicial Reform Citizen Untact Rally' group, displaying messages such as 'Oppose Sasaoip,' was roaming near the National Assembly and the Democratic Party headquarters. Also, about 50 meters from the National Assembly, a large display installed on a truck showed phrases like 'Oppose Sasaoip' and 'Implement a runoff election.'

Sasaoip is a former term for rounding off numbers: discarding four or less and rounding up five or more. In 1954, President Syngman Rhee conducted a constitutional amendment vote to abolish term limits for the first president to extend his long-term rule. Although the amendment failed by one vote short of the required 136 votes, the Liberal Party claimed that since two-thirds of the total members was 135.33333, rounding up (Sasaoip) made 135 votes sufficient to meet the quorum, thus passing the amendment.

Supporters of former leader Lee strongly criticize the party's election commission, which recognized invalid votes, comparing it to former President Syngman Rhee's 'Sasaoip.' They particularly argue that Lee Jae-myung's selection as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate without a runoff by achieving a majority is an 'unprecedented calculation method that changed the base number (母數).'

Out of a total of 1,459,992 votes, after counting, the votes of withdrawn candidates Jeong Se-gyun (23,731 votes) and Kim Du-kwan (4,411 votes) were excluded from the valid votes, reducing the base number to 1,431,593 votes, making Lee's 50.29% (719,905 votes) problematic. If the votes of the two withdrawn candidates are included in the valid votes, Lee's cumulative vote rate would be 49.32%, requiring a runoff with former leader Lee.

On the afternoon of the 12th, a large display installed on a truck near the National Assembly building showed the phrase "Implement the runoff election." Photo by Seulgi Yoon seul97@asiae.co.kr

D, a male taxi driver in his 60s met in front of the truck with the 'Oppose Sasaoip' message, said about invalid votes, "I think it is right to consider when the withdrawal happened, as Lee Nak-yeon claims," and added, "I feel the party is judging in favor of Lee Jae-myung."

On the other hand, there are opinions that the candidate for the general election was decided through fair competition. Kim, a company employee in his 40s, said, "I think the party democratically selected the presidential candidate through proper procedures," emphasizing, "There is no problem."

Currently, former leader Lee's side is protesting the party election commission's invalidation of votes for candidates who withdrew during the primary on the 11th and demanding a runoff election. They argue based on Article 60, Paragraph 1 of the party regulations, which states that the election commission determines the winner by simply summing the publicly announced vote counts in the primary and declaring the candidate who received the majority of valid votes as the winner. They claim that the votes already announced in each regional primary before Jeong Se-gyun and Kim Du-kwan withdrew should be counted as valid votes.

However, the party election commission maintains its position based on Article 59, Paragraph 1 of the party regulations, which states that votes for a candidate who withdraws during the primary are invalid, so all votes received by Jeong Se-gyun and Kim Du-kwan are invalid. Election Commission Chairman Lee Sang-min appeared on CBS Radio's 'One Round Match' on the night of the 11th, emphasizing that "the election commission has exclusive authority over procedures and decisions regarding the final selection of the primary candidate," and that the existing position of the election commission will be maintained.

Regarding this, Party Leader Song Young-gil appeared on TBS's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' on the 12th and said, "Since the party election commission decided, there is no legal procedure to revisit this," and announced that the party's executive committee would convene on the 13th to discuss and decide on former leader Lee's objections. The executive committee consists of about 70 members, including party leadership, key party officials, provincial party chairpersons, provincial governors, and National Assembly standing committee chairs.

Meanwhile, since the executive committee members are ex officio members appointed by Leader Song, it seems unlikely that former leader Lee's objections will be accepted. A key figure from former leader Lee's side expressed willingness to respect the executive committee's decision. He said to a media outlet on the 13th, "The executive committee is like the Supreme Court of the Democratic Party and has the final authority to interpret the party constitution and regulations," adding, "There is no way to reject the executive committee's decision, which is like a Supreme Court ruling."

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