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๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea /Elections & Politics

Kim Min-seok regains cumulative lead in Democratic Party leadership race

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified Context piece
  • Kim Min-seok regained the top spot in the Democratic Party's leadership race after the Jeju and Incheon primaries.
  • Kim now leads Jeong Cheong-rae by 0.87 percentage points in the cumulative vote count.
  • The final results, including weighted votes from strategic regions, will be announced at the party convention on August 17.

Kim Min-seok has reclaimed the lead in the Democratic Party's race for party leader, overtaking Jeong Cheong-rae following the latest primary results from Jeju and Incheon. This latest round of voting shifted the cumulative standings, placing Kim ahead by a narrow margin of 0.87 percentage points.

Kim secured 47.75% of the votes in the Jeju and Incheon primaries, while Jeong received 42.08%. Song Young-gil trailed in third place with 10.17%. This brings Kim's cumulative total to 76,844 votes (45.42%) and Jeong's to 75,380 votes (44.56%).

The essence of this convention is an election to judge candidates who have divided the party with anti-Lee Jae-myung, divisionist, and Shincheonji suspicions.

โ€” Jeong Cheong-raeJeong Cheong-rae, a candidate for party leader, framed the election as a judgment against those who have sought to divide the Democratic Party.

The race has been a close contest, with the lead fluctuating between Kim and Jeong. Kim had briefly taken the lead after the Chungcheong region primaries but fell behind again after the Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (Bu-Ul-Gyeong) results were tallied. The current figures do not yet include a 5% weighting for strategic regions like Gyeongnam, which will be factored into the final announcement at the party convention on August 17.

During joint rallies in Jeju and Incheon, the candidates presented their platforms and engaged in sharp exchanges. Kim emphasized his commitment to resolving internal party conflicts, while Jeong framed the election as a judgment against candidates who have sought to divide the party. Song criticized Jeong's bid for re-election, suggesting his term was sufficient.

I have done enough. There is no need to be re-elected. Even a bone soup doesn't yield flavor if boiled three times, so why talk about prosecution reform again?

โ€” Song Young-gilSong Young-gil, another candidate, criticized Jeong Cheong-rae's bid for re-election.
DistantNews Editorial

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