The Democratic Party's preparatory committee announced on October 9 that it will assign a 5% weight to the valid voting results from Daegu, Gyeongbuk, and Gyeongnam in the upcoming convention. This measure aims to mitigate the drawbacks of the one-person, one-vote system, which, while reflecting majority opinions, has raised concerns about neglecting the views of specific regions and generations.
Lee Yeon-hee, the committee's secretary, spoke with reporters at the National Assembly, stating, "This regulation will only be effective for this convention."
The committee also decided to introduce a youth supreme committee member system. Lee explained, "The decision was made unanimously by the committee members. One of the five elected supreme committee members will be selected separately. The composition of the electoral group will follow the same rules as those for selecting the party leader and supreme committee members."
Additionally, she elaborated that if there are four or more candidates for the youth supreme committee member, a preliminary election will be held to select three candidates, with the winner determined by a one-person, one-vote method.
Furthermore, the number of preliminary election winners was set at three for the party leader and eight for the supreme committee members, with the order of the preliminary election remaining confidential.
However, the committee expressed that there is a prevailing opinion that implementing the preference voting system does not constitute a violation of party rules. The preference voting system is currently under consideration by the supreme committee.
The preference voting system allows voters to list their top three preferred candidates on the ballot. If a candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes in the first round, they are declared the winner. If no candidate achieves a majority, the votes are counted including the next choices. Some analysts suggest this method may favor certain factions within the party.
Meanwhile, ahead of the upcoming convention, former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, lawmaker Song Young-gil, lawmaker Ko Min-jeong, and former Gangjin County Council Chair Kim Bo-mi have declared their candidacies. Speculation is also rising regarding former leader Jeong Cheong-rae's imminent announcement to run.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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