Democratic Party Re-elected Lawmakers Say "Next Leadership Should Be a 'Unified Collective Leadership System'... Will Convey to Emergency Committee"

Consensus Reached at Reelected Lawmakers' Meeting
Suggestions to Elect Leaders Born in the 70s and 80s

Kang Byung-won, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, informs the press that the meeting is private as he attends the re-elected lawmakers' meeting held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 9th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Re-elected lawmakers of the Democratic Party of Korea have come forward advocating for a 'collective leadership system' as the method for selecting the party leadership at the upcoming party convention.

On the 9th, after a meeting with re-elected lawmakers at the National Assembly, Rep. Kang Byung-won told reporters, "We have gathered the majority opinion of re-elected lawmakers in favor of a 'unified collective leadership system' as our party's future leadership structure, and we have decided to convey this to the Emergency Response Committee."

He continued, "The unified collective leadership system is suitable as an opposition party leadership structure that reflects diverse opinions and approaches the public as much as possible. We agreed on this and intended to inform the public accordingly."

Regarding concerns that "factional conflicts might worsen," he said, "Rather than factional conflicts, the leadership should convey the diverse voices within the party to the public and create unity. Isn't the current criticism that we are distant from public sentiment? I believe that a leadership system where diverse voices are discussed within the leadership is more fitting for the changes and innovations the public expects."

Additionally, the re-elected lawmakers decided to publicly discuss the party's future direction at an open forum scheduled for the 15th. Rep. Kang stated, "At the re-elected lawmakers' meeting, the majority reached a consensus and resolved to hold a public forum at 10 a.m. on June 15 at the National Assembly to evaluate the Democratic Party's crisis and discuss what actions to take."

During the meeting, there was also a consensus to elect leaders born in the 1970s and 1980s. He said, "We talked about establishing new leadership related to our party's leadership. The new leadership would be centered on lawmakers born in the 1970s and 1980s who can lead the party. This is the majority opinion of the re-elected lawmakers, and I am reporting it as such."

However, opinions within the party are divided over the method of selecting the leadership. Rep. Kim Yong-min expressed concerns about the re-elected lawmakers' decision, saying, "If we are to change the party convention rules, we should move to a direct election by party members, not a collective leadership system," adding, "There is a high possibility this will lead to typical factional politics."

Rep. Kim Nam-guk also stated on KBS Radio that morning, "It is necessary to have a single leadership system that enables swift decision-making and demonstrates a solid opposition party that can effectively check the ruling party," and added, "If the party leader fails to secure a majority of a friendly leadership team, they will simply become a figurehead leader."

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