Is It Stubbornness or Conviction? ... Fierce Debate in the Democratic Party Over Park Ji-hyun's 'Insistence on Running for Party Leader'

Park "Recruited then Treated as a Burden"... Defies Decision Banning Candidacy
"Youth Betrayal" vs "Hard to Accept Exceptions" Debate

Former Co-Chair of the Emergency Committee of the Democratic Party, Park Ji-hyun. / Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Former Co-Chair of the Emergency Committee Park Jihyun, whose candidacy for the Democratic Party's national convention was blocked due to not meeting the qualifications of a party member with voting rights, reiterated on the 6th that she "will not yield to being discarded after use" and expressed her intention to run again. Park claimed that when she was elected as the Emergency Committee Chair by the party's Central Committee vote last April, she had already secured the right to run for party leader.

Opinions within the party are divided over Park’s eligibility controversy. While some argue that "Park is making unreasonable demands," others contend that "her contributions to party reform should be recognized."

On the 5th, the Democratic Party's Emergency Committee concluded that Park, who expressed her intention to run for party leader in the August national convention, was ineligible to run. According to the party’s constitution and regulations, to obtain the right to run for party leader, one must be a party member with voting rights who joined the party at least six months before August 1 (the date when party members’ voting rights are exercised). Park did not meet this requirement, as she joined the Democratic Party on February 14 through the recruitment by then-presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung.

Park herself acknowledged that she did not meet the qualifications of a party member with voting rights and requested that the party allow her to run through a resolution of the Party Affairs Committee based on the clause "may be otherwise determined by resolution of the Party Affairs Committee." However, the Emergency Committee effectively rejected this, stating that "no unavoidable reason to allow an exception was found."

Former Emergency Response Committee Chair of the Democratic Party, Park Ji-hyun, is answering questions from the press while attending the Greenbelt Results Sharing Party "Brave Journey" held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul on the 1st. Photo by Yonhap News.

In response, Park immediately pushed back. She referred to her role in rallying female supporters in their 20s and 30s during the last presidential election and handling sexual misconduct issues within the party, criticizing, "How much must one contribute to the party, how much of a 'big shot' must one be, for a member who has not been in the party for six months to have the right to run for party office? (The Emergency Committee’s decision to bar my candidacy) is a declaration that women, youth, and those calling for Democratic Party reform will not be allowed."

She further emphasized that since she was previously elected as Emergency Committee Chair, she already holds the right to run, stating, "If the candidacy rights granted at that time were not revoked by any special measure, it cannot be considered lost now. I will register as a candidate."

While the Democratic Party leadership stated that the decision to bar her candidacy was made according to party rules and regulations, political circles analyzed that the real reason was discomfort with Park’s blunt criticism of sensitive party issues. During her tenure as Emergency Committee Chair, Park clashed with the party’s mainstream faction by advocating for the retirement of the '586 generation' (people in their 50s, who were university students in the 1980s, born in the 1960s) as part of party reform. Especially ahead of the June 1 local elections, she criticized fandom politics, which is cited as a party problem, and called for a firm response to sexual misconduct within the party, which sparked backlash among supporters who accused her of "internal betrayal."

Opinions were divided within the party over Park’s determination to run. In an interview with KBS Radio, lawmaker Cho Eungcheon criticized Park’s claim of already having candidacy rights, saying, "Emergency Committee Chairs do not require party membership qualifications. They are appointed positions, whereas the party leader is an elected position that requires six months of party membership according to party rules. These are completely different cases," pointing out that Park’s demands are unreasonable.

On the other hand, lawmaker Lee Wonwook criticized the Emergency Committee’s decision on Facebook, saying, "Is the Democratic Party trying to discard Park Jihyun after using her? Although the election was lost, didn’t Park Jihyun make significant contributions? The issues Park targeted were not solely the party but its flawed culture, old habits, and double standards."

Meanwhile, on the 6th, Park reaffirmed her intention to run by posting on Facebook, "I will not yield to being discarded after use while reflecting on my original intention." She said, "The Democratic Party, which recruited me to create a world without sexual violence, is now treating me as a burden. I don’t care if the Democratic Party uses and discards me. But the Democratic Party is now trying to discard not only me, Park Jihyun, but also the world without sexual violence that I promised to create. I will stop this."

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