South Korean Politics: Kim Min-seok Leads Jeong Cheong-rae in Democratic Party Leadership Race Ahead of Seoul, Gyeonggi Primaries

The race for the leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea is reaching a critical juncture as results for the Seoul and Gyeonggi provincial primaries are set to be announced today.

Kim Min-seok appears to be solidifying his lead, having secured over half the votes in the recent Honam region primary. This victory has positioned him ahead of rival Jeong Cheong-rae in the cumulative vote count. However, attention is focused on the Seoul and Gyeonggi regions, which represent 38% of party members, to see if Jeong Cheong-rae can stage a comeback.

The party held joint rallies for its leadership and supreme council candidates in Suwon and Goyang on the day of the announcement. The results for these provincial primaries are expected to be released around 6 p.m. today, following the conclusion of the Seoul rally. The vote counts for the top-ranked party leader candidates and supreme council candidates will be announced sequentially.

In the previous Honam primary, Kim Min-seok won decisively with 57.54% of the vote, compared to Jeong Cheong-rae's 32.65%, a difference of 24.90 percentage points. Song Young-gil came in third with 9.81%. Cumulatively, Kim holds 52.21% of the vote across various regions, while Jeong has 38.14%, giving Kim a 14.07 percentage point lead heading into the final primaries.

Jeong Cheong-rae is reportedly pinning his hopes on voter turnout, noting that online voting rates in Seoul (46.74%) and Gyeonggi (45.31%) were significantly higher than in Jeonnam (37.63%) and Jeonbuk (35.22%). This higher turnout could potentially create a favorable "wind" for his campaign.

Meanwhile, in the race for the supreme council, Park Sun-won, Choi Min-hee, Seo Mi-hwa, Kim Yong, and Han Min-soo are currently in the top five positions, based on votes counted so far. However, these figures do not yet include the 5% weighting for the Daegu, Gyeongbuk, and Gyeongnam regions in both elections. The Democratic Party will finalize its national tour primaries with the announcement of the Seoul and Gyeonggi results. The final outcome, which combines 70% delegate and party member votes with 30% public opinion polls, will be revealed at the party's convention on August 17.

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Kim Min-seok, Jeong Cheong-rae, and Song Young-gil, candidates for the leadership of the Democratic Party, attend the Jeonbuk joint convention for party leader and supreme council candidates at Wonkwang University's Culture and Sports Center in Iksan City on the 15th.