Amendment to Party Constitution Excluding 'All Party Members' Vote' Passes Central Committee After Great Effort (Update)

On the 26th, following the 24th, the Central Committee convened to approve the party constitution amendment
The clause on all registered party members voting was excluded from the amendment
Judgment on exceptions to suspension of party positions upon indictment (political retaliation) changed to be made by the Party Affairs Committee

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] The Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) approved an amendment to the party constitution on the 26th. After an initial rejection, the amendment was passed in a re-vote, allowing the party constitution to be revised before the new leadership takes office.

The DPK held a Central Committee meeting on the day, where 311 out of 566 members present, or 54.95%, voted in favor of the amendment.

The approved amendment includes a revision to Article 80 of the party constitution, which suspends the duties of party officials indicted for legal violations related to corruption. Initially, the DPK attempted to amend the constitution to suspend party officials after a first-instance court ruling, but after internal opposition, a compromise was reached to allow the suspension to be revoked through a party affairs committee resolution if the case is recognized as political retaliation.

The provision designating a full vote of all party members with voting rights as the party's highest decision-making body was excluded. This was because the rejection of the amendment at the Central Committee meeting on the 24th was attributed to this clause. Within the party, there were concerns that Lee Jae-myung, a candidate for party leader who has the support of some hardline party members, could turn the DPK into a personal party through a full vote of all party members with voting rights.

Additionally, the revised party constitution newly includes a clause that establishes an emergency response committee if more than half of the party's Supreme Council members are vacant. This internal procedural regulation was prepared while observing the internal strife experienced by the People Power Party during its transition to an emergency committee.

With the party constitution amendment passing the Central Committee on this day, the DPK will be able to complete all necessary procedures for the amendment at the party convention scheduled for the 28th.

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