There are also voices of concern within the Democratic Party of Korea over the fact that the primary for the chairman and floor leader for the first half of the 22nd National Assembly is proceeding exclusively in favor of pro-name candidates. Park Jie-won (Haenam, Wando, Jindo, Jeollanam-do), who was elected to the 5th term in the April 10 general election, said on the 25th, “It is not politics for the party to be so focused and demand undivided attention.”
The current candidates for the first half of the National Assembly, which is held by the majority party, the Democratic Party, including Cho Jung-sik, Choo Mi-ae, Jeong Seong-ho, and Woo Won-sik, are all pro-Myung faction. President-elect Park said on CBS Radio that day, “The Speaker of the National Assembly must have political power, negotiating power, driving force, and fighting power while maintaining neutrality in accordance with the spirit of the law.” He added, “It is politics to emphasize the neutrality of the National Assembly Speaker to the people, saying, ‘Because I came from the Democratic Party. “I will only side with the Democratic Party.’ This is not politics.” He criticized the chairman candidates, who are required to be neutral, as they are prohibited from holding party affiliation under the National Assembly Act, and say, “I will work for Representative Lee Jae-myung.”
In the floor leader election on the 3rd of next month, Rep. Park Chan-dae, who is close to Representative Lee, appears to be running as a sole candidate. President-elect Park also said about this, “It’s not like you can’t say anything even if the party is going like this.” He added, “In order to take power, diverse voices and the right words must come out within the party.”
The Democratic Party is accepting registration for floor leader candidates until the morning of the 26th, and Rep. Park is the only one who declared his candidacy by the 25th. Rep. Park Joo-min, who was considering running until the end, also declared not to run on this day, saying, “I will do my best in my role as the last senior vice-president of the 21st National Assembly.” It is unprecedented for one candidate to run alone in the Democratic Party’s floor leadership primary. Regarding this, even some in the party are concerned that “the appointment format is not good.”
After receiving the candidate registration documents that day, Representative Park Chan-dae said, “I am determined to create a reformed National Assembly that practices, a Democratic Party that acts, and a Democratic Party centered on party members.” One elected candidate said, “The other candidates are all pro-Myeong candidates, but Rep. Park, supported by the party leader, preemptively declared his candidacy, making it difficult for him to get out.” Another elected official said, “There is nothing for lawmakers to gain by making an angle with Rep. Park, who has the trust of Representative Lee,” adding, “Also, there are three more floor leader elections left in the 22nd National Assembly, so there is room to make one concession.” did.
