Pro-Chung candidates 3, Pro-Lee candidates 5 advance in Democratic Party Supreme Council race

The Democratic Party is gearing up for its August 17 national convention, with intense factional maneuvering underway to secure a majority in the new leadership. The primary battleground is the Supreme Council election, where the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction has fielded five candidates, while the pro-Chung Jin-sang faction has put forward three.

“

Han Min-soo candidate is well-known among Chung's party members, Lee Sung-yoon candidate has a Honam base, and Choi Min-hee candidate seems to have secured votes from strong supporters.

Securing a majority on the nine-member leadership team, which includes the party leader and two appointed Supreme Council members, requires winning at least two elected Supreme Council seats. The advancement of three pro-Chung candidates, Lee Sung-yoon, Han Min-soo, and Choi Min-hee, is seen as a testament to the strong mobilization of Chung Jin-sang's supporters.

Among the pro-Lee candidates advancing are Park Sun-won, Kim Yong, Seo Mi-hwa, Kim Young-ho, and Lim Mi-ae. One second-term lawmaker noted that Han Min-soo is well-known among Chung's party members, Lee Sung-yoon has a base in the Honam region, and Choi Min-hee appeals to the hardline supporters. Another first-term lawmaker suggested that Chung Jin-sang's strategy of emphasizing an underdog image has resonated effectively with his base.

“

(Chung Jin-sang's) strategy of highlighting his image as an underdog and stimulating the emotions of his supporters has been directly reflected.

As the race for party leadership intensifies, the strategic alliances between party leader candidates and their chosen Supreme Council running mates are becoming crucial. Chung Jin-sang's supporters, who previously used a "birthday vote" strategy to consolidate their ballots in the preliminary round, are now sharing voting tactics for the upcoming regional tours. This includes voting for the popular Choi Min-hee while splitting votes between Han and Lee based on birth month (odd months for Han, even months for Lee).

“

Although it is burdensome to publicly designate and support three specific candidates out of the five pro-Lee candidates, the situation has changed from the preliminary round, so we will make strategic decisions through political judgment.

While Chung Jin-sang has officially announced his "Team Chung Jin-sang" slate, candidates Kim Min-seok and Song Young-gil have not publicly aligned with specific Supreme Council candidates. However, as factional competition heats up, these party leader candidates are expected to exert influence to ensure the election of their favored Supreme Council members. One lawmaker supporting Kim Min-seok acknowledged the difficulty of publicly endorsing only three out of five pro-Lee candidates but indicated that strategic decisions would be made based on the changed electoral landscape. Another lawmaker close to Kim Min-seok suggested that a united pro-Lee front against the pro-Chung faction might be more effective than dividing into pro-Kim Min-seok and pro-Song Young-gil camps.

“

Rather than dividing into pro-Kim Min-seok and pro-Song Young-gil camps, it would be more effective for the pro-Lee faction to unite and confront the pro-Chung Jin-sang faction.