Uri Party to Increase Chairman’s Powers

The Uri party introduced an amendment to its rules that increases the authority of its party chairman to appoint public offices while partially decreasing the involvement of key party members after a central committee workshop and a party meeting on December 26,

This amendment comes after about two months of discussion within the emergency executive committee since the end of October. The amendment strengthens the power of the party chairman by investing it with the de-facto authority over appointment of party executives including the chairman of the financial committee and the chairman of the planning committee, while maintaining the existing dual leadership system between the party chairman and the floor leader.

In addition, a party chairman can now ask the central standing committee to reexamine the party’s nominations of provincial and local candidates, increasing the chairman’s authority to nominate candidates to public offices.

Under existing rules, only presidential candidates were elected in a race participated by citizens while representatives and metropolitan mayoral candidates were elected by party members only. The amendment calls for a change that allows citizens to participate in the election of representative and metropolitan mayoral candidates as well.

The new electoral college will be broken up as follows: 30 percent will be key party members, 20 percent common party members, and 50 percent citizens.

The emergency executive committee also decided to add a bylaw that will prevent party membership fee payment by proxy.

Jeong Se-gyun, the Uri Party chairman, remarked through his introduction at the meeting, “I am also thinking about entrusting the race at next February’s party convention to the elections commission. Putting the elections commission in charge of the party race might reduce the troubles created afterward.”

If Jeong’s idea is realized, it would be the first incidence of a party race conducted under the supervision of the central election commission.

taewon_ha@donga.com