In the first round of the Democratic Party's primary for party leader, candidate Kim Min-seok secured the top position in the voting among party members in the Chungcheong region. However, the margin over rival Jeong Cheong-rae was a narrow 0.44 percentage points, indicating a highly competitive race leading up to the party convention on the 17th.
According to Yonhap News on August 1, Kim received 45.05% of the votes from party members in Chungnam, Chungbuk, Daejeon, and Sejong, narrowly defeating Jeong, who garnered 44.61%. Candidate Song Young-gil received 10.34% of the votes.
This party convention will implement a one-person, one-vote system for the first time. The voting composition for the party leader election will consist of 70% from delegates and party members and 30% from the public. Only the results of the party members' votes will be disclosed during the primary, while the online voting results from delegates and public opinion polls will be announced together at the convention on the 17th.
If no candidate receives a majority of the votes, a preferential voting system will be used. Voters who selected the lowest-ranked candidate as their first choice will have their second-choice votes redistributed to the top two candidates to determine the final party leader.
Ahead of the first primary in the Chungcheong region, a joint speech event saw heated exchanges among the candidates.
During the joint speech held at the CJB Media Center in Cheongju, Jeong stated, "Just as voting is one person, one vote, I hope the competition and the fight can be one-on-one as well. Even if I am beaten two-to-one or three-to-one, I have come this far with the party members who have supported me." He added, "I have faced various attacks and oppression to get here, and I will not engage in negative campaigning or attack my opponents' weaknesses during TV debates."
In contrast, Kim remarked, "While there can be various analyses of the election results, if you are comrades who share the same vision as President Lee Jae-myung, there should be a consensus on how desperately the government wanted victory at that time." He further targeted Jeong by saying, "If the term 'anti-Lee' is divisive, then who was the first to create division before that?"
Song also emphasized, "The Democratic Party is not a party that allows re-election except in special cases. I have not engaged in self-serving politics. I will fight against those who attack the Lee Jae-myung government to protect our administration and strive for victory in the upcoming general elections and the restoration of power in 2030."
Political analysts suggest that Kim's victory in the Chungcheong region, a significant area for gauging public sentiment in the Democratic Party's convention, gives him an early advantage. However, with the narrow margin of 0.44 percentage points between Kim and Jeong, the upcoming primaries in the Yeongnam, Honam, and metropolitan areas, along with public opinion poll results, are expected to be crucial factors in determining the final outcome.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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