Ruling and Opposition Parties Begin Full-Scale Countermeasures Against Third-Force Big Tent Movement

Guk-him Launches Pledge Development Headquarters
Min-ju Prepares for PI Declaration Ceremony
Attention on Incumbent Lawmaker Cutoff Announcement Schedule
Interest in How Proportional Representatives Will Be Selected

As the formation of new parties and discussions on a big tent approach intensify, the third zone has emerged as a major variable in the general election. The People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea have begun their schedules, including candidate nominations and policy development, to actively counter the third zone trend.

On the 15th, the People Power Party launched the 22nd general election policy development headquarters and began preparing policies in earnest. The policy development headquarters will operate under the concept of a "People's Courier," delivering policies requested by the public. The launch ceremony was attended by the party leadership, including Han Dong-hoon, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party.

The Democratic Party also plans to announce policies starting this week. Cho Jung-sik, the party secretary-general, stated, "We will sequentially announce policies reflecting the national vision, party platform, and policies that resonate with the public's livelihood." The Democratic Party is also preparing to unveil a new party symbol (PI).

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The nomination schedules of the People Power Party and the Democratic Party are also attracting attention. The main focus is on the timing of the cut-off (exclusion from nomination) announcements. According to the current Public Official Election Act, the date for deciding election subsidies and candidate numbers for each party in this general election is the 14th of next month. It will be determined then whether the third zone can secure funding and candidate number 3. In this regard, political circles analyze that both ruling and opposition parties are delaying the nomination timing, conscious of the possibility of incumbent lawmakers defecting to the third zone.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

How the proportional representation election system will be decided is also a key point to watch. Currently, there is no discussion between the ruling and opposition parties on whether to adopt a mixed-member proportional system or a parallel system for proportional representation. The third zone maintains a stance of not being swayed by election system issues. However, experts believe that if the current mixed-member proportional system is maintained, third zone parties could secure more seats. At the emergency committee meeting that day, a committee chairman pointed out, "There are 86 days left until the election, but there still hasn't been a rule meeting on the proportional representation issue. The current system (semi-proportional representation) is too complicated and difficult for the public to understand. There are also many questions about whether it truly reflects the public's will." He suggested finalizing the system as a parallel election system even at this stage.

On the other hand, the Democratic Party appears to be still deliberating on the election system issue. Floor leader Hong Ik-pyo said, "In a survey conducted among lawmakers, the majority favored the parallel system," but added, "I have proposed and plan to discuss a plan to allocate about 47 proportional seats half by the parallel system and half by the mixed-member proportional system." However, he also indicated that options such as creating satellite parties are being considered. Regarding the proposal for a 'proportional alliance party' involving the Basic Income Party, Open Democratic Party, and Social Democratic Party, he said, "It is one of the unavoidable options," and "It is a situation worth discussing."

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