With '100% Party Member Voting' Rapidly Completed... Will It Be Finished This Week?

December 20 Standing National Committee and December 23 National Committee and Standing National Committee Meetings
Party Convention Preparation Committee and Election Management Committee Expected to Launch by Late December

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Boryeong] The amendment to the party constitution to elect the next leadership of the People Power Party through '100% party member voting' is being pushed forward rapidly. The party's Emergency Response Committee plans to swiftly complete the amendment by going through the Standing National Committee and the National Committee by the 23rd.

Park Jeongha, the chief spokesperson of the People Power Party, told reporters on the 19th regarding the party constitution amendment, "We will convene the Standing National Committee on the 20th, then the National Committee on the 23rd, and hold the Standing National Committee again." Considering that the National Committee must announce the convocation three days in advance, this shows their intention to handle the process with speed.

Spokesperson Park explained, "Assuming the party convention is held in early March, if we allocate 50 days from candidate registration to the primary process, preparations must be completed by early January to register candidates. Therefore, we had no choice but to run a 100-meter dash this week."

According to the party constitution, the Standing National Committee is composed of up to 100 members to deliberate and decide on major party affairs. Qualifications for committee members include chairpersons of standing committees in the National Assembly affiliated with the party, heads of city and provincial party organizations, senior members of the parliamentary group, and representatives of city and provincial councils affiliated with the party. The National Committee consists of up to 1,000 members, including the party leader, supreme council members, deputy speakers of the National Assembly affiliated with the party, senior advisors, and the secretary-general.

Tendency to follow conservative party leadership decisions... 99% approval in Standing National Committee and National Committee

Since following leadership decisions has become a 'custom,' approval by the Standing National Committee or National Committee is expected to be relatively smooth. A People Power Party official said, "There have been almost no cases where proposals were rejected by the Standing National Committee or National Committee," and added, "We expect 99% approval this time as well." Another official said, "Conservative parties tend to follow leadership decisions, so it seems this will be accepted as is."

In August last year, Seo Byungsoo, who was the chairperson of the Standing National Committee and National Committee, opposed the 'forced Emergency Response Committee system' after former party leader Lee Junseok and refused to convene the Standing National Committee. However, he eventually resigned from the chairmanship, stating that he could not be an obstacle to the party leadership.

Jung Jin-seok, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is checking his speech before speaking at the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 19th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Once the party constitution amendment is completed, the Preparatory Committee for the Party Convention (Jeonjunwi) and the Election Management Committee for the Party Convention will be launched to officially start the race for party leadership.

The formation of Jeonjunwi has not yet been decided. Spokesperson Park said, "The Election Management Committee must be formed because there is a need to decide on matters not included in the party constitution and regulations. Jeonjunwi is handled practically, so we have to wait and see," adding, "Specific dates have not been discussed yet." However, if the party convention is scheduled for early March, it is expected to be launched by the end of December.

Starting from this party convention, a 'runoff voting system' will also be introduced to enhance the representativeness of the party leader. If the candidate with the highest votes does not exceed 50% of the vote share, a re-vote will be held between the first and second place candidates. The People Power Party also conducts runoff voting in elections such as the floor leader election when no candidate exceeds half of the votes in the first round.

Meanwhile, on the same day, Emergency Response Committee Chairperson Jeong Jinseok held a press conference at the National Assembly and said, "The core of the party constitution amendment for electing the party leader and supreme council members is to elect the party leadership through 100% party member voting, and all emergency committee members agreed on this." The current party convention rules consist of '70% party member voting' and '30% general public opinion polling.'

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