Democratic Party Establishes Steering Committee for Floor Leader Election... Secretary-General Kim Young-jin, Close Aide to Lee Jae-myung, Retained

Full-Scale Election of Floor Leader Begins
Kim Young-joo Appointed as Election Committee Chair, Kim Young-jin as Secretary-General
Spokespersons Jo Oh-seop, Shin Hyun-young, Hong Seo-yoon

Park Ji-hyun, co-chair of the Emergency Response Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, is delivering opening remarks via video conference at the emergency response meeting held at the National Assembly on the 14th. Chair Park attended this meeting remotely due to testing positive for COVID-19. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] On the 14th, the Democratic Party of Korea established an election management committee to oversee the floor leader election and appointed four-term lawmaker Kim Young-joo as the chairman. Additionally, two-term lawmaker Kim Young-jin, considered a close aide of former Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung, was retained as the secretary-general.

The party’s emergency committee announced this decision during a meeting on the same day. Previously, with Floor Leader Yoon Ho-jung serving as co-chair of the emergency committee, the party had decided to hold the floor leader election early, before the 25th. This election is being considered to proceed using the so-called 'conclave' method, similar to the papal election, instead of a primary. The election management committee will finalize the election schedule and the specific method of the primary.

Lawmaker Kim, who was retained as secretary-general of the emergency committee, is a close aide of Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung. During the presidential election, he led election responses as the party’s secretary-general and the general affairs director of the campaign headquarters. Therefore, his retention is interpreted as reflecting both his practical skills accumulated through roles such as secretary-general and strategy chief, and considerations of the so-called 'Lee Jae-myung role theory' circulating in some circles.

Spokesperson Park explained the reason for his retention, saying, "It was judged appropriate to continue the work during this emergency situation." The emergency committee also appointed first-term lawmakers Shin Hyun-young and Jo Oh-seop, as well as former youth spokesperson Hong Seo-yoon, as spokespersons.

Meanwhile, regarding former party leader Song Young-gil’s pledge during the presidential election to nominate more than 30% youth candidates for metropolitan and basic councilors, the Democratic Party stated, "This is already a publicized issue," adding, "A task force related to the local elections will be formed in the future, and the emergency committee will express opinions and help shape it accordingly."

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