"Suddenly Nomination Rules? Did They Script It?" Opposition Factions Clash with Democratic Innovation Committee

Scream "Diagnosis and Prescription of Lee Regime Must Be Core of Innovation"
Pro-Lee "Expulsion of Scream Is Groundless... Must Find Innovation Balance Point"

Amid promises of comprehensive reform with declarations to "strip the skin and shave the bones," the Democratic Party's Innovation Committee is facing backlash within the party. Even before its launch, the Innovation Committee was viewed with suspicion for having a personnel composition biased toward the pro-Myeong (pro-Lee Jae-myung) faction. As the Innovation Committee is expected to revise the election nomination rules under the banner of 'dismantling vested interests,' concerns have arisen that the rules could be designed to disadvantage certain factions.

Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon, from the non-Myeong faction, argued that the agenda items such as changes to the nomination rules and dismantling vested interests "strongly suggest a prearranged script." He emphasized that the core issue the Innovation Committee should address is not the nomination rules but rather the diagnosis and evaluation of the Lee Jae-myung leadership system and appropriate remedies.

In an interview with MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the 22nd, Rep. Cho said, "Why was the Innovation Committee established now? Because the Lee Jae-myung leadership failed to perform its role properly over the past year and faced criticism due to various incidents and accidents, so they decided to at least have an Innovation Committee."

He continued, "Then the Innovation Committee should look at where the Lee Jae-myung leadership failed to fulfill its role properly. I don't understand why they suddenly bring up nomination issues. The 22nd general election nomination rules have already been finalized through special party regulations."

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jong-min warned, "If the knife is wielded for the political goals of a specific faction or the mainstream centered around Representative Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party will face tremendous chaos and trials," and argued that Representative Lee should relinquish the party leader's nomination rights.

In an interview with CBS Radio's 'Park Jae-hong's One-on-One' on the 21st, Rep. Kim criticized Chairman Kim of the Innovation Committee's mention of 'nomination system innovation,' saying, "For 20 years, all party leaders have talked about and implemented nomination reforms, which have gradually improved things somewhat, but ultimately the remaining issue is the party leader's nomination rights," adding, "Unless the party leader relinquishes the nomination power, it is meaningless."

On the 20th, at the first meeting of the Democratic Party Innovation Committee held at the National Assembly, Chairperson Kim Eun-kyung is speaking.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the other hand, the pro-Myeong faction emphasized the need to focus on the Innovation Committee's role and direction.

Democratic Party lawmaker Ahn Min-seok said, "The claim that the Innovation Committee is biased toward a specific faction is a malicious intent to trap the Innovation Committee within a factional frame and shake it." In an interview with YTN Radio's 'News King with Park Ji-hoon,' Rep. Ahn rebutted, "During the presidential election, the lawmakers, supporters, and all of us were pro-Myeong, aiming to elect Lee Jae-myung as president. Where were the anti-Myeong people?"

Regarding the Innovation Committee's direction, he stressed personnel reform. Rep. Ahn said, "Innovation includes personnel reform and institutional reform, and the innovation ahead of the general election is personnel reform, simply put, a reshuffle," adding, "The key is how large-scale and how impressively the reshuffle is conducted to move the public. Everything else is secondary."

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Young-jin said, "Since the nomination rules were decided through a special party regulation and a vote by all party members this year, it is still uncertain how much will be revised," but dismissed concerns about intentions to expel the non-Myeong faction as groundless.

In an interview with BBS Radio's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal,' Rep. Kim emphasized, "If reform and innovation are excessively emphasized, unity and cohesion break down; if only unity and cohesion are emphasized, reform and innovation break down, and the Democratic Party loses its distinctiveness and becomes a bland party," adding, "Finding the balance between these two when innovating is extremely important."

Rep. Kim said, "The Democratic Party's victories in the 2018 local elections and the 2020 general election were achieved by properly applying the nomination system and adopting rules accepted by all," and added, "Because of this history of victory and accumulated experience, I believe the successful axis of that experience cannot be significantly shaken."

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