'No path to victory for Democratic Party without Yeongnam,' Im Mi-ae says

Im Mi-ae, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker running for a supreme council seat at the party's Aug. 17 national convention, said Monday that there is no path to victory for the Democratic Party if it gives up on Yeongnam. She added that the party leadership must maintain at least one channel of communication with the region's 12 million voters.

Im made the remarks during an appearance on BBS Radio, saying she believes she is the right person to boldly advance the regional balanced growth agenda and that she intends to focus on that issue to win over party members.

She said that while Yeongnam may have fewer party members, that had not translated into fewer delegates — but with the introduction of a one-person, one-vote system, the region's rights-holding members now account for only about 7 percent of the total. "How can the voices of Yeongnam voters be properly reflected in the party's major policy decisions with such a small share?" she said, stressing that her candidacy for the supreme council could play a vital role for the Democratic Party.

She added that Honam should embrace Yeongnam as a strategic move to embody the spirit of Kim Dae-jung — advancing toward a truly national party — and that the Greater Seoul area must pay close attention to and champion the value of the regions if the Democratic Party is to move forward as a party of the future.

On the fact that all three female candidates among the eight who cleared the preliminary primary have advanced to the final race, Im said a provision exists allowing the top vote-getter among women to be added to the supreme council if none of the five seats go to a woman, but that to her knowledge the provision has never actually been invoked. "There is a degree of recognition within the Democratic Party for female leadership," she said.

With the Democratic Party set to push a Criminal Procedure Act amendment — centered on the complete abolition of supplementary investigative powers — through a plenary session of the National Assembly this week after adopting it as official party policy, Im said it would be "a problem" if ruling party lawmakers pressed ahead with such a significant measure while dismissing widespread public concern and framing it purely as a matter of conviction.

She added that the president had been asking the party to deliberate on the issue for a year with that very concern in mind, but that instead of going through a genuine deliberative process, a line was drawn first — casting those who backed the party leader's declaration as reformists and those who did not as anti-reformists. "That aspect of it has very much been used as a factional political weapon," she said.