The Democratic Party of Korea urged Prime Minister Handeok Soo, who is acting president, on 6th to "quickly announce the presidential election date and declare political neutrality." The party stated that there has been "no discussion" regarding the primary methods suggested by the Justice and Innovation Party and others like open primaries (a complete public contest).
Kim Yoon-deok, the secretary-general of the Democratic Party, requested during a press briefing at the National Assembly that the acting president "quickly announce the presidential election date and declare political neutrality."
It is anticipated that once the presidential election date is confirmed, the resignation timing of Lee Jae-myung, a prominent presidential candidate from the opposition party, will also become clearer. Secretary-General Kim remarked, "Isn't the date for the presidential election yet to be exactly determined? So I think once the election date is announced, the representative will make a decision himself."
The Democratic Party plans for Lee to resign from his position and to begin preparations for the presidential election under an acting party leadership system. First, the party will establish a special committee for presidential election regulations and an election management committee to organize a system related to the election, and the discussions will be finalized through the party's highest decision-making bodies and a vote by party members.
However, the Democratic Party noted that there has been "no discussion" regarding the primary methods suggested by the Justice and Innovation Party, including open primaries. Earlier, acting leader Kim Sun-min had proposed a unified primary system in which all presidential candidates from various parties in the Democratic camp participate to elect a single candidate.
Secretary-General Kim emphasized, "The Democratic Party has not concretely discussed the upcoming presidential election until the Constitutional Court's conclusion is reached," and noted, "Other than the administrative office conducting practical preparations necessary for the election, nothing has been discussed." He also stated that there has been "no discussion" regarding the suggested people's participation primary method (50% rights party members, 50% opinion polls).
In particular, regarding the proposal for open primaries, Secretary-General Kim remarked that it is a "personal opinion" and explained, "The open primaries suggested by the Justice and Innovation Party allow all candidates eligible to run for the presidency, regardless of party affiliation, to compete. Personally, I believe it would be much better to first decide on presidential candidates within each party and to respond to the demands for substantial social reforms during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, fostering the unity of the opposition for a government change process."
It was also announced that the schedule for the convention to elect a new party leader will be extended from the existing "within two months."
Secretary-General Kim stated, "When the party leader resigns, the convention is required to elect a new party leader within two months during a vacancy. However, in this case, it seems impossible to hold the convention within two months after the leader's resignation." He added that the term of the floor leader (until mid-May) needs to be extended and that a new floor leader should be elected after the presidential election, followed by preparations for the convention under the new floor leader’s oversight. He explained that they need to allow for a preparation period of about three to four months extra, compared to the originally scheduled two months, in this presidential election preparation process.
Secretary-General Kim emphasized, "If Lee resigns, a system will be established based on the party's constitution and rules, and the primary schedule will proceed through that system," adding, "The party will do its best to quickly establish a primary system to prepare for the presidential election."