Regarding "Local Election Nomination Rules to be Finalized by End of Month... Nomination Rules, Bonus Points to be Established"

Subcommittee Established to Prepare Criteria... "Expanded Decision-Making Power for Party Members in Nomination for Metropolitan and Local Councilors"

Rep. Jo Seung-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea bowing (Seoul=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Ju-hwan = Rep. Jo Seung-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea bows at a forum on the introduction of tax credits for K-content production costs held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul on September 30. 2025.9.30 jujuk@yna.co.kr

The Democratic Party of Korea has decided to finalize its nomination regulations for the local elections next June by the end of this month, including rules for primaries and the application of bonus points.

Jo Seung-rae, the party's Secretary-General, announced this at a briefing held at the National Assembly after a Supreme Council meeting on the 10th, stating, "We are currently operating the nomination system subcommittee and the strategy subcommittee, and the nomination subcommittee is determining the nomination review criteria."

According to Secretary-General Jo, the core of the Democratic Party's preparation for the local elections next year will be to establish criteria regarding ▲ exceptions to the cutoff (disqualification) review process ▲ primary election procedures ▲ and bonus points for women, youth, and individuals with disabilities.

Applications that meet the disqualification criteria upon submission will be rejected (cut off).

Secretary-General Jo explained, however, that "for 'disqualified individuals' who fall under exceptions among those subject to the cutoff, a detailed review will be conducted, and we are discussing how to proceed with that review process as well as the primary election operation methods."

Bonus points awarded in primaries are also a contentious issue.

Secretary-General Jo said, "We are considering how to award bonus points to those who require political consideration, such as women, youth, and individuals with disabilities," and added, "We will finalize how to apply deductions or additions for those who fall under disqualification criteria but are allowed to run by the end of October."

He stated, "For nominations of metropolitan and local councilors, we will give party members significantly more decision-making power going forward," and noted, "In fact, even now, nominations for local and metropolitan councilors are almost entirely decided through primaries involving active party members."

He also mentioned, "For proportional representation, although it is currently decided by the provincial party standing committee, we are discussing making it a decision of active party members in the future."

Furthermore, he clarified, "Delegates have no role whatsoever in the process of recommending public candidates," and stated, "The proportion of delegates is related to the rules for electing party officials such as the party leader and supreme council members, and it is not related to the rules for selecting public candidates."

Secretary-General Jo said, "Recently, there have been issues with duplicate addresses in the process of new members joining the Seoul City Council, so we have issued instructions to the 17 provincial party chapters to conduct related verification." He added, "However, this is not a comprehensive survey of all party members. As of now, there are no plans for a comprehensive survey related to next year's local elections."

According to Secretary-General Jo, as of September, the Democratic Party has 5.6 million general party members, and over 2 million active party members who pay dues of 1,000 won or more per month. Yonhap News