Ruling party poised to largely replace lawmakers in 2020 election

Ruling Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Rep. Lee Hae-chan, left, and floor leader Rep. Lee In-young attend a joint conference for members of special committees on National Assembly reform and long-term lawmakers, held at the DPK leader's office, Thursday. Yonhap

By Jung Da-min, Park Ji-won

In its push for "reform," the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is considering replacing a considerable number of its lawmakers in the April 2020 general election, a move widely seen as an attempt to overcome the negative impact of the appointment of Justice Minister Cho Kuk.

The DPK is planning not to give party tickets to between 30 and 40 incumbent lawmakers, according to political sources and multiple media reports.

Fifteen assemblymen including DPK Chairman Rep. Lee Hae-chan, have already indicated they will not run for re-election. They include National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang, a six-term lawmaker; Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun, a four-term lawmaker; Minister of Interior and Safety Chin Young, a four-term lawmaker; and Won Hye-young, a five-term lawmaker.

The Kyunghyang Shinmun, a local daily, reported the number of lawmakers planning not to run in the 2020 election could climb to about 40, if the party excludes those with a poor Assembly performance.

The DPK plans to conduct an evaluation of its incumbent lawmakers from November to January, and will "impose penalties" on the bottom 20 percent, or about 26 lawmakers, who receive poor performance grades, if they enter the party's primaries, it reported.

The move is largely seen as the ruling party seeking to reform the party before campaigning in one of the most important elections, a litmus test for the presidential election in 2022; and to prop up its falling support following the contentious appointment of Cho.

President Moon Jae-in's approval rating dipped to 43.8 percent in a Realmeter survery conducted on 2,007 voters from Monday to Wednesday, falling 3.4 percentage points from a week earlier to its lowest level ever. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.2 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

The approval ratings for the DPK and the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) were 38.2 percent and 32.1 percent respectively. The ruling party saw a 1.3 percentage points fall from a week earlier, while the opposition gained 2 percentage points amid the political storm surrounding the appointment of the justice minister amid ongoing accusations of academic fraud and financial crimes against him and his family.

Other key members of the ruling party, who had been expected to run in the election, also announced they would not seek re-election. They include Yang Jung-chul, a confidant of President Moon Jae-in and the head the DPK's think tank the Institute for Democracy; Baek Won-woo, a former presidential secretary for civil affairs; and Kim Soo-hyun, a former chief of staff for economic policy.

"I hope our members are committed to win next year's general election to maintain power and support the administration," DPK Chairman Lee Hae-chan said during a party workshop Wednesday.

Meanwhile, members of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) continued to have their heads shaved in a symbolic protest against the administration and signify solidarity.

Lawmakers of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) shave their heads in a protest against the recent appointment of Justice Minister Cho Kuk, in front of the main building of the National Assembly in Seoul, Thursday. From left are Rep. Lee Man-hee Rep. Kim Seok-ki, Rep. Choi Gyo-il, Rep. Song Seog-jun and Rep. Jang Seok-chun. Yonhap

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