Key facts
- The ruling Democratic Party (DP) decided to revise its party rules to adopt a ranked choice voting system for its leadership election.
- Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank candidates, with votes redistributed until a majority winner is secured.
- This system aims to eliminate the need for separate runoff elections.
- A lawmaker resigned from the party's supreme council in protest against the proposed rule change.
- The DP's national convention to elect a new leader is scheduled for August 17.
SEOUL, July 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's ruling Democratic Party (DP) has decided to pursue a revision to its internal rules to implement a ranked choice voting system for its upcoming leadership election next month. The decision was made during a closed-door meeting of the party's supreme council on Tuesday.
Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate secures a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed based on the next preferences until one candidate achieves a majority. This process is intended to avoid the need for a separate runoff election.
Rep. Kang Jun-hyeon, the DP's senior spokesperson, informed reporters of the council's decision to revise the party rules to explicitly permit the use of this voting method. The party's national convention is scheduled for August 17.
The move has encountered opposition from lawmakers aligned with former DP leader Jung Chung-rae, who argue that the adoption of ranked choice voting contravenes existing party regulations. Rep. Lee Sung-yoon, a lawmaker supporting Jung, resigned from the supreme council in protest, deeming the party's action "completely unacceptable" and a violation of the party constitution and rules with the convention and candidate registration deadlines looming.
During the same meeting, the supreme council also rejected a proposal to reserve one of the five elected supreme council member seats for a young party member. The DP intends to seek approval for the rule revision at a party affairs committee meeting scheduled for 4 p.m.
Former leader Jung Chung-rae has declared his candidacy for reelection this week, contributing to a five-way race for the party leadership. His competitors include former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, Reps. Song Young-gil and Ko Min-jung, and former Gangjin council member Kim Bo-mi.