Lee Jung-hyun, Chairman of the People Power Party's Nomination Screening Committee. [Photo=Yonhap News]

Lee Jung-hyun, Chairman of the People Power Party's Nomination Screening Committee, has clarified his stance on the nomination controversy through social media. His explanation focused on the method. It was a story about what was shaken and what procedures were followed.

However, what supporters are asking is just one thing:

"So, what is changing?"

As long as this question remains unanswered, any explanation will be difficult to find persuasive. This is because in politics, change is not an action, but a result. The essence is not the fact that something was shaken, but what it was replaced with.

Looking at this nomination process, change itself is clearly evident. Busan expanded primaries, Chungbuk excluded incumbents, and Daegu opted for strategic nominations. Different methods were applied to each region. This can be significant in that it shook the existing order.

However, the problem lies beyond that.

There is no visible standard that unifies these various methods.

In politics, diversity can be a strategy. But the premise is clear: a standard must exist. Diversity without a standard is not a strategy, but chaos. The current nominations stand on that very boundary.

Nomination is not about personnel appointments.

It is a blueprint for what kind of politics a political party will pursue.

Through nominations, voters discern policy direction, power structures, and accountability methods. More important than who runs is the criterion by which they were chosen.

However, this nomination process has reversed that order. While personnel changes have occurred, the criteria explaining those changes have ultimately not been presented.

As a result, the standard for nominations effectively converges into one:

"Someone who can win."

At this point, the nature of politics shifts.

It is the moment when nominations are reduced from political design to election strategy. Victory is important, but it is merely a means. The moment the means replaces the end, politics loses its direction.

Voices are emerging from local councils demanding revisions to election methods. These are calls to change the system, attempts to alter the political structure itself.

However, what the People Power Party has seen 107 people sign is solely a declaration of 'severance' from former President Yoon Suk-yeol. There is no discussion about what will be changed, only a focus on what will be cut off.

This contrast sends a clear message.

The fact that current politics is confined to relationship management rather than structural reform.

Of course, some may argue that demanding such a level of answer from the Nomination Screening Committee Chairman is excessive. However, nominations are not a mere personnel selection process. It is a process of presenting the party's future to the voters. In that regard, the limitations of the position cannot be an excuse.

Rather, what is needed now is clearer.

An explanation of what politics the People Power Party intends to pursue, what it intends to change, and what results those changes will lead to. Nominations should be the starting point for this.

Producing many successful candidates in an election is important. However, fielding individuals who respect the will of the people and party members comes first. If that standard collapses, politics becomes empty even if the number of successful candidates increases.

What has been revealed in the People Power Party's nominations is not change, but a void.

We can see who is running, but we cannot see what kind of politics is beginning.

"So, what is changing?"

If this question cannot be answered, those nominations will remain an event, not politics.