[6.3 Election] Hwasun County Primary Changed to 20% Party Members, 80% General Public... Jangseong Remains Unchanged

The Democratic Party has designated the Hwasun County governor election district in South Jeolla Province, which has been embroiled in proxy voting allegations, as a strategic constituency. The primary method will also be changed to 20% party member votes and 80% general voter votes.

According to the Democratic Party's South Jeolla provincial chapter on April 16, the 266th Supreme Council meeting, held at 9 p.m. the previous day in the party leader's office at the National Assembly main building, finalized an agenda item centered on these changes.

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Initially, the Democratic Party had planned to hold the Hwasun County governor candidate primary between preliminary candidates Yoon Youngmin and Lim Jirak as a runoff on April 14-15, with the results based on 50% party members and 50% general citizens. However, following proxy voting allegations raised by some media outlets and the commencement of a related investigation, the primary was temporarily suspended.

With this rule change, the weighting for party members will be reduced by as much as 30 percentage points. This move is interpreted as the party's firm intention to thoroughly prevent controversial organized voting.

In contrast, the Democratic Party's Jangseong County governor primary, which was also suspended due to proxy voting allegations, will be rerun using the original method, reflecting 50% party members and 50% general public. Candidates Kim Hanjong, Park Nowon, and So Youngho will compete as before.

However, even if no candidate secures a majority, the candidate with the most votes will be confirmed as the party's nominee for the main election. The primary is scheduled for April 24-25.

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