As the Democratic Party of Korea's Aug. 17 national convention moves into the Seoul and Gyeonggi Province voting phase — following the pivotal Honam region — the race between front-runners Jung Chung-rae and Kim Min-seok has grown increasingly bitter. With a substantial share of party member votes still uncounted and a public opinion poll worth 30 percent of the final result yet to be conducted, both camps have shifted into all-out mode.
According to political sources Wednesday, Jung's camp filed a complaint with the party's election commission against Rep. Jeon Jin-suk (Gwangju Buk-gu B district), alleging she ran an illegal campaign for rival Kim Min-seok using so-called "phone rooms." Jung's camp said party members had separately decided to file a complaint with the local police precinct.
A recording released by Jung's camp features a person identified as a volunteer from Rep. Jeon's office urging a party member to support Kim and responding "understood" when told to "make sure to collect the daily allowance." Jung's camp cited the recording as evidence of illegal campaigning and alleged cash payments.
Rep. Jeon's side rebuffed the claims, saying the volunteer had participated without compensation and of their own free will, and accusing Jung's camp of coercively leading the respondent before maliciously editing the recording to construct a vote-buying narrative. Jeon's office said it was considering filing a disciplinary complaint with the party's central ethics committee and a criminal complaint for false accusation.
In Gwangju, the dispute over an alleged leak of the party membership list escalated into a physical assault. A man in his 60s, identified only as B, was arrested at the scene after allegedly wielding a cane at party officials at the Democratic Party's Gwangju chapter.
B had first called the chapter to complain after receiving a text message related to the party leader election, saying he believed his personal information had been exposed. He then went to the office in person. B, known as a Jung supporter, alleged that Kim's camp had leaked the membership list after he received a pro-Kim campaign text.
The intensifying last-minute tensions reflect both camps' assessment that the outcome remains too close to call. Voting by party members in key regions including Honam and Seoul and Gyeonggi Province is still ongoing, and the public opinion poll accounting for 30 percent of the final result has yet to be conducted.
A Democratic Party lawmaker affiliated with one of the campaigns said that with the public opinion poll included, roughly 77 percent of the total result remained undecided. "The 30 percent public opinion poll could be a particularly decisive variable this time," the lawmaker said.
Many had initially expected the second-preference votes of supporters backing candidate Song Young-gil to serve as the kingmaker. The party introduced a preferential voting system for this convention, meaning that if no candidate clears a majority in the first round, the second choices of Song's supporters could decide the winner. However, with Song's cumulative vote share coming in at 9.46 percent — lower than anticipated — analysts say the public opinion poll has become just as important as the preferential vote dynamics.
Jung's camp, which holds second place in cumulative votes, is counting on a relatively favorable outcome in the public opinion poll. A Jung camp official said party members who have already voted are likely to be excluded from the poll sample, and that People Power Party supporters are unlikely to respond actively to a Democratic Party survey. "Ultimately, the main respondents will be Democratic Party supporters who are not party members, progressive-leaning voters, and independents," the official said.
The Democratic Party tallies delegate and party member votes at 70 percent and the public opinion poll at 30 percent to determine the party leader and supreme council member rankings.
As the neck-and-neck race continues, both candidates have stepped up warnings about what the other's victory would mean. At a National Assembly press conference Wednesday, Jung said his election would directly translate into a boost for the president's approval rating, given his support from the party's core traditional base. "I expect the approval rating to rise by about 5 percentage points immediately upon my election, and by around 10 points within a short period," he said.
Kim, appearing on the YouTube program "Kim Eojun's Humility Is Hard News Factory" the same day, took aim at Jung, saying, "I think he should not become party leader right now," and warning that conditions would become "harder than the past year." Kim argued that he, not Jung, should lead the party to ensure stable relations between the party and the government and steady governance.
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