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Members of the pro-Jeong Cheong-rae faction within the Democratic Party launched a fierce assault on the "preferential voting system" adopted as the rule for the party leadership race. Under the preferential voting system, in which voters rank candidates first, second, and third, and those preferences are reflected sequentially, the interpretation is that pro-Lee Jae-myung faction votes would naturally consolidate—an effect disadvantageous to former leader Jeong Cheong-rae's camp. Although Jeong announced the previous day that he would accept the preferential voting system, backlash erupted among his close aides, and it appears to be emerging as a new flashpoint for factional conflict.
Rep. Cho Seung-rae, who served as party secretary-general under Jeong's leadership, argued in a post on his Facebook on the 8th, "The introduction of preferential voting for electing the party leader at the Aug. 17 national convention violates the party constitution and bylaws. Either withdraw it, or amend the party constitution and bylaws to implement it."
Cho pointed out, "If a rotating regional primary is held, the results of the rights-holding member votes are announced through the count," adding, "So it's unclear whether they intend to conduct a partial count of the rights-holding member votes, or count all first, second, and third preferences." He continued, "It also doesn't conform to the general principles of voting and vote-counting," adding, "In elections for floor leader, National Assembly speaker, and deputy speaker, the first-round results are not announced when it goes to a runoff. Also, since the runoff is completed within a short span of one to two hours, there is no confusion."
Cho cited as grounds Articles 25 and 66 of the party constitution, which set out the reasons and methods for runoff voting in the process of electing the party leader and supreme council members. While acknowledging that "there may be arguments that preferential voting is one method of runoff voting," he countered, "The party bylaws specify preferential voting and runoff voting as separate, independent voting methods. In this respect, the argument that preferential voting is one method of runoff voting is wrong."
Cho said, "Rather than shaking the party and the National Convention Preparatory Committee by claiming the convention is not being managed fairly, I hope the party members' convention proceeds calmly according to the agreed-upon procedures of the party constitution and bylaws, setting aside advantage or disadvantage."
The same criticism was raised at the party's Supreme Council meeting. Pro-Jeong Cheong-rae Supreme Council member Lee Sung-yun objected at the council that day, "It was reported that the preparatory committee decided yesterday to set preferential voting as the method for electing the party leader, but this is a clear violation of the party constitution and bylaws and is therefore invalid." Lee argued, "It is an election method unsuited to the party leader selection process," and, "The preparatory committee's abrupt decision to adopt preferential voting, ignoring the party constitution and bylaws, is an act without authority." Supreme Council member Moon Jung-bok added, "Applying preferential voting could constitute a violation of the party constitution and bylaws, and since candidate registration begins on the 17th, it is not right to amend the party constitution and bylaws."
By contrast, Supreme Council member Kang Deuk-gu, who is close to former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, checked the pro-Jeong Cheong-rae faction, saying, "This national convention is not a war to topple one another," and, "Very malicious suspicions are being raised against a particular party leader candidate."
As the pro-Jeong Cheong-rae faction continued to raise objections, the party leadership switched the Supreme Council to a closed-door meeting and again discussed the adoption of the voting method. Chief spokesperson Kang Jun-hyun met with reporters after the council and said, "Because some Supreme Council members had objections, we decided to discuss it further," adding, "After the preparatory committee's planning subcommittee discusses it in the afternoon, we decided to report it to the preparatory committee tomorrow (the 9th) for discussion."
Earlier, the preparatory committee decided at its third plenary meeting on the 7th to adopt the "preferential voting system" as the method for determining the party leader winner at the national convention. Under the preferential voting system, voters submit ballots ranking party leader candidates first through third, and until a candidate secures a majority, the lowest-ranked candidate is eliminated and that candidate's votes are reallocated to the remaining candidates according to preference order. In a runoff, if the first-place candidate fails to win a majority, voting is held again between the first- and second-place candidates to select the final winner.
Within the party, there is an interpretation that fellow pro-Lee Jae-myung contenders former Prime Minister Kim and Rep. Song Young-gil would be favored. Because first- and second-preference votes would be dispersed between the two candidates from the same camp, whichever candidate advances to the runoff could absorb the next-ranked votes to produce a consolidation effect. Regarding this, Jeong met with reporters on the 7th and expressed his intent to accept it, saying, "I respect and accept the preparatory committee's decision," and, "There may be advantages or disadvantages, but calculating in that way is not the right attitude. I am not thinking about advantage or disadvantage."
