The political significance of the convention
The 2025 Democratic Party National Convention is a significant political event that goes beyond simply electing a party leader it determines the party's identity and future political direction. Due to the resignation of former leader Lee Jae-myung, this convention, held in a by-election context, serves as an opportunity to elect a new leadership while simultaneously exploring internal reorganization and external expansion strategies for the party. This convention, which draws the attention of not only party members but also voters nationwide, is an important test of whether fair procedures and participatory democratic party operations can be realized. In this context, the schedule and voting methods of the convention need to be understood clearly and transparently.
"Overview of the Convention Schedule
The Democratic Party of Korea is scheduled to hold its national convention on August 2, 2025, in Seoul to elect a new party leader and supreme committee members. This convention will proceed with a process that includes regional primary elections and preliminary elections. If there are three or more candidates for the party leader, a preliminary election will be held first, scheduled for July 15. The preliminary election aims to narrow down the number of candidates to two, thereby forming the competitive landscape for the main election early on. The subsequent regional primary elections will begin on July 19. The first primary will take place in the Chungcheong region, followed by the Yeongnam region on July 20, the Honam region on July 26, and the metropolitan area (Gyeonggi-Incheon) on July 27. Finally, on August 2, voting will be conducted simultaneously in the Seoul, Gangwon, and Jeju regions, as well as for national delegates, and the final ballot counting and announcement of results are scheduled to occur during the main event of the convention that day. This national convention has introduced a run-off voting system under new regulations. If no candidate receives a majority of votes in the first round, a run-off will be held between the top two candidates, excluding the third-place candidate. The run-off voting serves as a mechanism to secure greater legitimacy and is expected to increase the internal and external acceptance of the results of the leadership selection.
Public Opinion Survey Method
The national public opinion poll is a key component that accounts for 30% of the voting results in the party convention. This poll functions as a mechanism that reflects public sentiment and social evaluation in the results of votes centered on party members within the party, serving as an important criterion for securing the external representativeness and legitimacy of the party leader. The target respondents are limited to supporters of the Democratic Party and undecided voters aged 18 and older nationwide. In particular, individuals included in the electoral college, such as party members or national delegates, are excluded from the survey. This redundancy prevention measure is an institutional mechanism designed to prevent double reflection of votes and to maintain the independence and objectivity of the public opinion poll. The method of polling is conducted using RDD (Random Digit Dialing), which randomly generates phone numbers and allows respondents to answer surveys through an automated response system (ARS). This approach minimizes subjective intervention by the surveyor and is a standardized method to ensure representativeness, where multiple polling agencies conduct surveys simultaneously and reflect the average values in the final results. The national public opinion poll for this party convention will be conducted over two days from August 16 to 17, 2025. This timing is after the main event of the convention and may be used as a separate survey referenced for future runoff voting or decision-making within the party, rather than for actual result reflection through supplementary voting. However, at this point, the interpretation of how this public opinion poll integrates with the main vote will be determined in accordance with the published party constitution and regulations.
Voting method for party members
Voting by party members accounts for the largest share of 55% in determining the results of the national convention. Party members form a key group that constitutes the Democratic Party's practical political base and play an important role in shaping the direction of the party and selecting candidates. In this national convention, a method was adopted that combines online voting and ARS (Automatic Response System) voting to ensure both convenience and security for party members' participation. The eligibility criteria for party membership are as follows: only those who joined the party before November 30, 2023, and have paid their party dues for at least six months between June 1, 2023, and May 31, 2024, will be recognized as voters in this election. National delegates are classified as a separate electoral group and are excluded from party member voting. The voting methods are divided into two types. The first is online voting. This will take place on the day of the regional primary election when members log into the party’s system through email authentication. The second is ARS voting, which operates in two ways. 'Mandatory ARS' will involve automatic calls to pre-registered numbers prompting members to respond, while 'Voluntary ARS' allows members to call a designated number within a specified time period to respond. ARS voting will be operated using separate numbers based on the last digit of the phone number. For example, in the Yeongnam region, even last digits will connect to 1688-6498, and odd last digits will connect to 02-850-9797, with a similar system for the Honam region. This operational structure aims to distribute system load and enhance security. One important point is that if a member participates in both online and ARS voting, that vote will be invalidated. This regulation is aimed at preventing duplicate voting and ensuring the consistency and reliability of the voting process. Therefore, party members should choose their voting method in advance and avoid duplicate participation.
National Delegate Voting Method
The national delegate voting accounts for 15% of the overall results. National delegates serve as an indirect electoral body representing the party organization, reflecting the party's organizational strength and the will of its institutions. The voting method takes place through an online system managed by the central party election management committee and is conducted on the main voting day, August 2. Unlike other voting methods, the national delegate voting is carried out uniformly at the national level, and it requires a different login path and authentication process compared to general party members. Since they function as the party's core support base, their choices tend to significantly impact strategic elements such as faction balance within the party and regional allocation.
Realization of party democracy and procedural trust
The recent Democratic Party convention can be seen as an experiment in political processes and institutional trust. With online and ARS voting centered around party members, public opinion surveys targeting the nationwide electorate, and national delegate voting reflecting the will of internal party bodies, a complex party democracy is being realized through harmonized operations in different ways. Technically, an online system and telephone response methods are used concurrently, while institutionally, the structure is strengthened through regional primaries and run-off elections. This is not just a simple formal procedure it is a process of forming political consensus based on participation and trust. The Democratic Party convention is not only a significant opportunity to determine the party's future direction and leadership but will also serve as a moment to set a new standard for democratic party operations with the participation of both party members and the public. Through this process, the party can innovate itself and move closer to the essence of party democracy, gaining public trust.
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