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Jung Chung-rae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, speaks during a meeting with local and metropolitan councilors at the National Assembly in Seoul on November 18. / Photo by Song Eui-joo

Jung Chung-rae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), announced on November 18 that he will push ahead with what he calls a “nomination revolution” for next year’s local elections by allowing full participation of dues-paying party members in the preliminary primaries and in the selection of proportional representatives at the basic and metropolitan council levels.

Speaking at a meeting with nationwide associations of local and metropolitan councilors at the National Assembly, Jung said the party is preparing a plan under which “100 percent of rights-bearing party members will take part in the first-round primaries for the 2026 local elections, and proportional candidates for basic and metropolitan councils will also be chosen entirely by party members.” He framed the proposal as a major step toward grassroots and direct democracy, pledging to revise party rules through the Party Affairs Committee and Central Committee.

Jung added that on November 19–20 the party will conduct a two-day process “to ask the intent” of its roughly 1.65 million members. The vote will ask whether they support one-person-one-vote approval for the proposal as well as full member participation in the primaries. “Proportional candidates have so far been selected at the level of the Standing Committee, but we plan to shift to a system where they are elected entirely by dues-paying members,” he said.

Emphasizing the importance of local governance, Jung noted that “the Lee Jae-myung administration is led by someone who came from local government and has deep commitment to decentralization,” adding that the government and the party would continue efforts to expand local fiscal authority and relocate public institutions to the regions. He also promised to send congratulatory messages to all candidates entering next year’s elections.

DPK Secretary-General Cho Seung-rae urged party officials to “ensure that the achievements accumulated so far can be shared with the public” in the months leading to the elections. He underscored the need for smooth communication with members and “clean, lawful primaries” to uphold the party’s commitment to member sovereignty.

The announcement follows controversy a day earlier, when Jung stated at a Supreme Council meeting that the party would hold a full-member vote to elect its leader. After backlash from members over restricting eligibility to those who paid dues in October, the party later clarified that the vote would be an “opinion survey with the nature of a poll,” rather than a formal full-member vote stipulated in party rules. Jung’s remarks on conducting an “intention inquiry” rather than a binding vote appeared aimed at addressing that criticism.