Jung Cheong-rae, leader of the Democratic Party, said on the 10th that, as expected, completing nominations a month before official campaigning begins on April 20 would make this the fastest nomination process in the country's constitutional history.
Speaking at a joint meeting of central and city/provincial election committee chairs at the National Assembly that afternoon, Jung said the party’s objective is to achieve the cleanest nominations on record and secure the largest victory in its history.
The meeting brought together Jung Cheong-rae; So Byung-hoon, chair of the central party election committee; and election committee chairs from 14 regions.
Jung said the election committee was intentionally formed largely without sitting members of the National Assembly and, wherever possible, was staffed with objective, impartial outside figures. With multiple contested primaries expected, he warned that election administration would face an unprecedented workload and stressed that the committee will be more important than ever.
Reflecting on the day’s timing, he noted that it coincided with the 10th anniversary of his own cut from the party’s nominations. He recalled how, after being excluded, he and other rejected candidates traveled the country campaigning tearfully to help the party’s nominated candidates win.
Addressing those who were not selected, Jung acknowledged feelings of disappointment and grievance but urged persistence: “You may feel hurt or wronged, but it’s not over until it’s over.” He said he is working to ensure the Democratic Party’s local elections become contests in which no one is left behind and the party maximizes its chances of victory.
So Byung-hoon, the central election committee chair, described the upcoming local elections as far more than routine contests. He said they are critical to supporting the success of the Lee Jae-myung administration and to responsibly meeting the public’s expectations. He added that the election committee is not merely an administrative arm but the party’s strongest bulwark for upholding fairness and democratic principles.
