As the leadership race within the Democratic Party of Korea heats up, Rep. Park Beom-kye expressed concern, saying, "Elements that raise doubts about the fairness of the convention's conduct and management are already emerging."
In a Facebook post Saturday, Park said, "At a time when party unity is required more than ever and there is a growing consensus on the need to expand toward the center, it is clear that fair management is the first element of unity in this convention's process."
"To put it bluntly, what is the meaning of the rule requiring a sitting party leader to resign before the convention if they wish to seek re-election?" he said, adding that it is "because of fairness." Park pointed to the fact that former party leader Jung Chung-rae retained key party officials, including the director of general affairs coordination, the director of strategic planning, and the director of organization, just before resigning.
"The personnel appointments were carried out as of June 22, and the party leader at the time (former leader Jung) resigned two days later, as of the 24th," he said, noting, "As party leader, he newly appointed those directors and, just before stepping down, once again granted them his confidence." He continued, "If May is the regular period for personnel changes, he should have made the appointments early in May, or left the matter to his successor after the August convention."
Park also criticized the convention schedule. The party's convention preparation committee had earlier finalized a circuit primary schedule beginning August 1 in South Chungcheong, North Chungcheong, Daejeon, and Sejong, followed by Ulsan, Busan, and South Gyeongsang on the 2nd; Jeju and Incheon on the 8th; Gangwon, Daegu, and North Gyeongsang on the 9th; North Jeolla, South Jeolla, and Gwangju on the 15th; and Gyeonggi and Seoul on the 16th. The final winner is to be confirmed in Daejeon on August 17. Within and outside the party, some argue that a schedule beginning and ending the primary in Chungcheong, former leader Jung's hometown, is inappropriate.
Regarding this, Park said, "I have overseen countless elections, whether for party leader or presidential candidate, but the image created by holding both the beginning and the end in Daejeon is a matter of grave concern." He added, "For fairness, intent is important, but so is appearing fair. If competitors were to raise objections to this peculiarity, it would be reasonable to accept them, yet it seems immovable."
Park added, "As someone who served as chairman of the central party election management committee during the general and presidential elections, I have doubts about what the urgency was to hastily pass the preparation committee's resolutions without a preparation committee chairman." He said, "If this too is dismissed as nothing significant, I am even more worried about what lies ahead."
