Kim Min-seok, a candidate for Democratic Party of Korea leader, delivers a policy speech at the party's joint Seoul rally held at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on Sunday. [Yonhap]
Kim Min-seok, a candidate for Democratic Party of Korea leader, delivers a policy speech at the party's joint Seoul rally held at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on Sunday. [Yonhap]

Democratic Party of Korea leadership candidate Kim Min-seok swept both Gyeonggi Province and Seoul in the metropolitan-area leg of the party's nationwide primary tour, effectively cementing his lead ahead of the Aug. 17 national convention to elect the party's next leadership.

According to the Democratic Party's National Election Commission, Kim won the Gyeonggi Province rights-holding member vote on Sunday with 84,442 ballots, or 46.70 percent, edging out rival Jung Chung-rae's 83,832 votes (46.37 percent) by 610 votes. Candidate Song Young-gil received 12,530 votes, or 6.93 percent.

Kim then carried Seoul as well, tallying 63,803 votes (46.61 percent) to Jung's 63,206 (46.17 percent) — a margin of 597 votes. Song received 9,880 votes, or 7.22 percent.

Kim had already won the Honam region on Saturday with a commanding majority of 57.54 percent, and his back-to-back victories in the greater Seoul area allowed him to finish the nationwide primary tour as the cumulative leader.

At a joint campaign rally held at Suwon Sports Complex in Gyeonggi Province on Sunday, Kim outlined three priorities for the province's future: leading the world in semiconductors, driving reform of basic income and regional currency programs, and normalizing conditions in the border areas of northern Gyeonggi Province.

Later that day, at a joint Seoul rally held at Kintex in Goyang — the final stop of the primary tour — Kim declared his intention to win back Seoul. "I experienced the pain of losing the Seoul mayoral race 24 years ago, and in the 2010 local elections I helped engineer a victory as overall campaign director," he said. "I will pour all of that experience into reclaiming Seoul next year, without fail."

The Democratic Party will finalize its next leader and supreme council members on Monday at the party's third regular national convention at Daejeon Convention Center, combining delegate votes with the results of a public opinion survey.

A spokesperson for Kim's campaign said the races in both Gyeonggi Province and Seoul were nail-biters, adding that the team would not forget the weight of a single vote. "We will wait humbly until the very last moment for the choice of party members and the public," the spokesperson said. "If chosen, we will immediately set to work ending divisions and building a united Democratic Party — a capable ruling party."


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