DistantNews
Support us
🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

Kim Min-seok Edges Out Rival in Tight Chungcheong Primary for Democratic Party Leadership

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Kim Min-seok narrowly won the first national tour primary for the Democratic Party's leadership election in the Chungcheong region.
  • He secured victory over rival Chung Jin-sang by a slim margin of 303 votes, a result he attributed to a desire for change and innovation within the party.
  • The close contest highlighted regional support differences, with Kim leading in Chungnam and Chungbuk but trailing in Daejeon and Sejong.

Kim Min-seok, a contender for the leadership of the Democratic Party, secured a narrow victory in the first national tour primary held in the Chungcheong region. He edged out his rival, Chung Jin-sang, by a mere 303 votes, a result Kim described as reflecting the party members' and public's demand for "change and innovation."

It is a result that shows the members and the public have shown their desire for change and innovation.

— Kim Min-seokKim Min-seok's self-assessment of his narrow victory in the Chungcheong primary.

The primary, held on August 1, saw Kim Min-seok garner 30,632 votes (45.06%), while Chung Jin-sang received 30,329 votes (44.61%). Song Young-gil came in third with 7,027 votes (10.34%). The voter turnout for the Chungcheong region's primary was 41.5%, significantly higher than the 26.5% average recorded in the previous year's national convention primaries for the same region.

Considering that I was beaten 2-to-1, 3-to-1, 4-to-1, 5-to-1, and attacked, and thinking about what I have endured so far, it is a very excellent achievement.

— Chung Jin-sangChung Jin-sang's reaction to his close performance against Kim Min-seok.

Kim Min-seok's victory was not uniform across the region. He led in Chungnam (45.65%) and Chungbuk (47.39%), but fell behind Chung Jin-sang in Daejeon (42.71% vs. 48.23%) and Sejong (40.68% vs. 50.28%). Kim expressed satisfaction with the result, acknowledging the difficulty of campaigning in Chungcheong, which he noted as Chung Jin-sang's base and an area where he had prepared extensively.

The extension of the 'Myeong-Cheong (Lee Jae-myung-Chung Jin-sang) battle' is hell for the Democratic Party, and that hell gate must be closed.

— Kim Min-seokKim Min-seok criticizing the factional politics within the party.

Chung Jin-sang also viewed the close outcome as a significant achievement, given the perceived attacks against him. The results suggest a tight race ahead, particularly as recent polls indicated Chung leading in public opinion ('public sentiment') but trailing Kim in party member support ('party sentiment'). Song Young-gil stated he had achieved a "minimum defense" and would strive for a turnaround in the upcoming, larger primaries in Honam and the Seoul metropolitan area.

If you cannot say 'anti-Lee Jae-myung' as 'anti-Lee Jae-myung,' how can you be a leader?

— Kim Min-seokKim Min-seok questioning the leadership stance on factional loyalty.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog