Democratic Party Supreme Council race heats up: '3 pro-Jeong, 2 pro-Lee' in early lead

Candidates for the Democratic Party's Supreme Council are locked in a tight race in the preliminary elections for the August 17 national convention. The preliminary results from the Chungcheong region and the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (Bu-Ul-Gyeong) areas show a close contest between pro-Jeong (pro-Jeong Cheong-rae) faction candidates, who rely on traditional party member support, and pro-Lee (pro-Lee Jae-myung) faction candidates, who are leveraging their public recognition.

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The directive seems to have been issued to Jeong Cheong-rae's supporters to all vote for Choi Min-hee first. This kind of paired voting, which is not in line with party member sovereignty, is a violation of election law.

With five Supreme Council members to be elected, securing at least two seats is crucial for any faction to command a majority in the council's decision-making. This has intensified strategic voting battles among the party's factions. According to the preliminary results announced by the party's election management committee, candidates received the following votes: Choi Min-hee (22.58%), Park Sun-won (16.41%), Han Min-soo (14.46%), Seo Mi-hwa (13.72%), Kim Yong (12.41%), Lee Sung-yoon (11.34%), Lim Mi-ae (5.73%), and Kim Young-ho (3.35%).

Factional analysis suggests a strong performance by the pro-Jeong faction, with Choi Min-hee securing a comfortable first place with over 20% of the vote, and Han Min-soo ranking third, both within the top five winning positions. The pro-Lee faction saw Park Sun-won take second place due to high name recognition, with Seo Mi-hwa and Kim Yong also placing within the top five, bringing the total to three candidates. However, the gap between the fifth-place candidate, Kim Yong, and the sixth-place candidate, Lee Sung-yoon (pro-Jeong), is only about 2,600 votes.

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Ultimately, it's a 3 vs. 2 battle. The pro-Lee faction will also engage in strategic voting next week to filter out two candidates among the five pro-Lee candidates.

As the initial results reveal the preliminary landscape, complex calculations are expected among the factions leading up to the final announcement on August 17. Tensions are also rising, with one lawmaker supporting a presidential candidate Kim Min-seok accusing the pro-Jeong faction of orchestrating bloc voting for Choi Min-hee, calling it a violation of election law. A representative from the Jeong Cheong-rae camp, however, framed the contest as a "3 vs. 2 battle" and predicted that the pro-Lee faction would also engage in strategic voting to eliminate weaker candidates. The focus is now shifting to the fight for fifth place, as the top contenders from each faction become clearer.

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As two likely candidates from each faction have emerged, the competition will now intensify for the fifth spot.