Former Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo said Sunday that the People Power Party's internal primary system is "structured in a way that makes it easy for fringe religious groups like Shincheonji and the Unification Church to infiltrate."
In a Facebook post Sunday, Hong said the PPP's primary "had no particular excitement and felt like a scripted performance."
Hong said the Democratic Party's primaries, by contrast, are "dynamic." "They campaign across the country, and regional results from in-person votes by rights-holding members are announced one by one — with rankings flipping dramatically from region to region," he said.
Hong said the PPP holds nationwide campaign tours but "decides the outcome through a single vote, so there is no tension," adding that the process "resembles less a vote by dues-paying members and more a lineup of Assembly members and party chapter heads."
"For the PPP to rise again, it needs to reform this primary system first — but I wonder if that's even possible," Hong said.
The Democratic Party primary format Hong referenced reveals regional vote tallies sequentially as the party tours the country. The Democratic Party is set to hold its third regular national party convention Monday to elect new leadership.
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