Sangmin Lee: "Both Parties Have Plenty of Room for Nomination Manipulation... Should Be Opened to the People"

'Bimyeong' Lee Sang-min attends ruling party Innovation Committee lecture
On questions about his position, he says "Decision in December"

Lee Sang-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on the 21st regarding the nomination system of both ruling and opposition parties, "There is a lot of room for manipulation whether it is the People Power Party or the Democratic Party."

After attending the 'Discussion on Problems and Reform Measures of Korean Politics' hosted by the People Power Party Innovation Committee at KAIST in Daejeon on the same day, Lee told reporters, "If the residents and the public of the region can choose through the open primary mentioned by In Yo-han, the Innovation Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, it can minimize manipulation," he said.

Earlier, the People Power Party Innovation Committee recently announced the 4th innovation plan, which completely excludes all strategic nominations in constituencies, that is, the 'principle of mandatory primaries.' Lee supported this innovation plan.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee said, "If nominations are made through a fully open primary, there can be no such stories," and added, "The Democratic Party also says that system nominations are in place, but after the 21st general election, looking at other regions, many places were in a mess."

Regarding his use of the term "manipulation," he said, "There are various specific cases," mentioning the actions of hardline party members and the sample of online opinion polls among party members with voting rights.

In Yo-han, Innovation Committee Chairman, said, "(Lee) mentioned that no matter how well the rules are made for the primaries, there are many cases where those rules are eventually circumvented," and added, "I also said that I realized today that it is better to ask the people and hold primaries in the spirit of open primaries."

Lee also urged a 'change in the president's attitude' on the day. He said, "Although the People Power Party publicly behaves that way, they must actually show an attitude of kneeling before the people," and added, "President Yoon Suk-yeol should review the parts of his current state affairs policy that may alienate public sentiment, those that directly confront the public sentiment, and the parts that felt rough and arrogant, and show a softer, more delicate, and warm leadership in future governance."

He also advised that the ruling party and the Innovation Committee should play a behind-the-scenes role for this. Lee said, "Chairman In and the Innovation Committee members must move the president’s heart very technically so that the president thinks, 'They are really on my side,' without offending the president’s feelings."

Meanwhile, regarding his future course such as leaving the party or joining a new party, Lee said, "I will decide whether to stay in the Democratic Party or leave by early December," and when asked about the possibility of joining a third-zone new party, he said, "Generally speaking, I plan to keep all possibilities open."

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