Democratic Party of Korea set to elect new leader amid close race

The Democratic Party of Korea is poised to elect its new leadership for the next two years on August 17, 2026, with significant attention focused on the party leader race. Kim Min-seok, a leading candidate, currently holds an 8.40 percentage point lead over Chung Jin-sang in the cumulative vote count among party members.

The party's 3rd National Convention, held at the Daejeon Convention Center, will finalize the results by combining party member votes, delegate votes cast online from 9 AM to 5 PM, public opinion surveys, and a 5% weighting for votes from the Yeongnam region. The final outcome is expected around 6 PM.

Kim Min-seok's current cumulative vote share stands at 49.91%, with Chung Jin-sang at 41.51%. If Kim secures over 50% of the total vote, he will be declared the party leader. However, if no candidate achieves this majority, a preferential voting system will be implemented. This system allows voters to rank their choices from first to third, and if no candidate wins outright, the votes for the third-place candidate will be reallocated based on the second choices of those voters.

In the race for the five supreme council member positions, candidates Choi Min-hee, Park Sun-won, Seo Mi-hwa, Lee Sung-yoon, and Han Min-soo are currently in the top five based on party member votes. A close contest is unfolding for the chief supreme councilor position between Choi Min-hee and Park Sun-won, with only a 0.31% point difference. The final composition of the supreme council, with three seats potentially going to the 'pro-Chung' faction and two to the 'pro-Lee' faction, is also a point of interest. The race for the fifth spot is particularly tight, with Han Min-soo leading Kim Yong by a mere 2,312 votes, or 0.15%.