Democratic Party to Include Teenagers in Presidential Primary Voting 🗳️

The Democratic Party in South Korea is changing things up for their presidential primary! Here’s the gist:

• Voting Breakdown: 50% from party members (including, for the first time, 16-18 year olds!) and 50% from a public opinion poll.
• Why the Change? To avoid potential manipulation by outside groups that some feared could occur with a traditional electoral college system.
• Who’s Voting? Over 1.1 million registered party members who joined at least 12 months before the primary and have paid dues for six months or more.
• Public Opinion Poll: They’ll survey 1 million people using “safe numbers” (안심번호, ansim beonho – think of it as a way to anonymize phone numbers for polling) to ensure fairness.
• Quick Timeline: This all happened because of the former President Yoon Suk-yeol’s impeachment, leading to a snap election.

In Detail:

The Democratic Party (더불어민주당, Deobureo Minjoo-dang) will select its presidential candidate through a combination of votes from party members and a public opinion poll. This approach is detailed in the ‘Special Regulations on the Election of Candidates for the 21st Presidential Election,’ established by the Party’s Special Regulations Preparation Committee for the Presidential Election.

Key Points:

• Voting Structure: Presidential candidates will be chosen with 50% of the vote from party members and 50% from public opinion polls.
• First-Time Youth Participation: For the first time in the party’s history, 16-18 year old members will participate in the primary voting.
• Regional Primaries: The party plans to hold primary elections across four regions: Chungcheong, Gyeongsang, Honam, and the Seoul Metropolitan Area.
• Voter Eligibility: Approximately 1.1 million party members who joined more than 12 months before the election date and have paid dues for at least six months are eligible to vote.
• Public Opinion Poll Details: The public opinion poll will survey 1 million people using randomly generated “safe numbers” (안심번호, ansim beonho) to ensure impartiality.
• Reasoning Behind the Method: The decision to use public opinion polls instead of an electoral college system was influenced by concerns about potential external interference, such as organized ‘reverse selection’ by specific religious or other groups.
• Time Constraints: The snap election, triggered by the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, necessitated a quicker candidate selection process, making it challenging to organize a traditional electoral college.

Non-Lee Jae-myung Faction’s Stance:

The non-Lee Jae-myung faction had advocated for an open primary system, not distinguishing between party members and the general public. However, this proposal was not accepted.

Committee’s Explanation:

Lee Chun-seok, the head of the Special Regulations Preparation Committee, stated that the decision was made considering the party’s historical mission and the urgency of the upcoming election. He expressed confidence that a fair election could be conducted through mutual understanding.

Next Steps:

The special regulations will be finalized after a vote by all party members on April 13 and an online vote by the Central Committee on April 14.