[Feature] Jeong Cheongrae's "One Member, One Vote" System... Gwangju and Jeonnam Political Circles on Alert

Dues-Paying Members Poised to Gain Power
Inevitable Turmoil in Regions Where "Nomination Equals Election"
Concerns Over Money-Driven Elections and Factional Realignment

Jeong Cheongrae, Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea

The so-called "one member, one vote" party constitution amendment, which Jeong Cheongrae, Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, had been pushing forward, has temporarily been put on hold. However, the political circles in Gwangju and Jeonnam are already closely monitoring the potential repercussions. Given the regional characteristic where the formula "nomination equals election" has become entrenched, a structural change that drastically increases the proportion of dues-paying party members could shake up the entire electoral landscape.

The Democratic Party recently postponed the Central Committee meeting to process the "one member, one vote" party constitution and regulation amendment to December 5. Although Leader Jeong declared the "era of party member sovereignty" and pushed strongly for the change, there was significant backlash within the party, criticizing the move as "hasty," making it inevitable to slow down the process.

The core of the "one member, one vote" system includes "equal application of one vote per delegate and dues-paying party member" and "100% reflection of dues-paying party members' votes in the preliminary nominations for basic and regional proportional representatives."

Although the decision has been postponed, there are cautious predictions in the region that "the overall trend will not change." There are clear reasons why political circles in Gwangju and Jeonnam are reacting sensitively.

Until now, a small number of delegates in the Democratic Party held voting power nearly 20 times greater than that of ordinary dues-paying members. If this structure collapses, the power of delegates will rapidly weaken, while the influence of dues-paying members will increase explosively. This change could be especially critical in Gwangju and Jeonnam, where as many as 10 Democratic Party candidates often compete in elections.

For this reason, there are already predictions in the region that "the nomination race will become turbulent."

As the number of dues-paying party members secured will determine victory or defeat, there are concerns that the competition to expand organizational membership could, in effect, turn into a "money-driven" election.

Since even sending out promotional text messages incurs significant costs, there are concerns that the ability to mobilize funds could become a fixed factor in determining internal party competitiveness.

Although the context is somewhat different, more than 130,000 out of 300,000 new party member applicants recruited by the Democratic Party's city and provincial branches in August-over 40%-were classified as ineligible, leading to allegations of illegal party member recruitment. This can be seen in a similar context.

An even bigger issue is "policy distortion."

There is already criticism both inside and outside the party that campaign pledges and actions tailored to the tastes of a minority of dues-paying members, rather than the majority of local citizens, will become rampant.

Depending on the size and interests of factions within the party, there is a high possibility that the power structure among regional party chairs, local government heads, and local council members will be completely reorganized. This means that the logic of power could become the deciding factor.

A local political insider commented, "The intention behind the one member, one vote system is fairness, but in regions like Gwangju and Jeonnam, where the Democratic Party dominates, it could actually fuel conflict," adding, "Rather than trying to handle all matters through party member votes, it is necessary to distinguish between issues that should be decided by delegates and those that should not."

He also predicted, "This institutional change could become a 'game changer' that shakes up the entire election landscape," and "internal conflict within the Democratic Party could intensify."

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