The Democratic Party of Korea's national convention preparatory committee decided Tuesday that the Aug. 17 party convention vote will weight delegate and party member ballots at 70 percent and a general public poll at 30 percent.
Song Ok-ju, vice chairwoman of the preparatory committee, announced the decision at the committee's first meeting at the National Assembly, saying the convention "pursues changes in how the electoral college is composed and how votes are reflected."
"The overall weighting will be 70 percent for delegates and rights-holding party members combined, and 30 percent for the public, with delegate and rights-holding member votes counted on an equal basis to more clearly embody the principle of member sovereignty," Song said. The change marks the first application of the "one member, one vote" system championed by former party leader Jung Chung-rae, equalizing the weight of delegate and party member votes to a 1-to-1 ratio from the previous roughly 17-to-1 disparity.
The committee also approved the convention's preparation schedule Tuesday.
Candidate registration for party leader and supreme council member positions will run July 16–17, with a preliminary election on July 21.
Regional primary elections will begin Aug. 1 in South Chungcheong, North Chungcheong, Daejeon and Sejong, followed by Ulsan, Busan and South Gyeongsang on Aug. 2; Jeju and Incheon on Aug. 8; Gangwon Province, Daegu and North Gyeongsang on Aug. 9; North Jeolla, South Jeolla and Gwangju on Aug. 15; and Gyeonggi Province and Seoul on Aug. 16.
The national party convention will then be held Aug. 17 at the Daejeon Convention Center, where the final winners will be announced.
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