Kim Min-seok (third from left), the newly elected leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, greets attendees after his election at the party's third regular national convention held Monday at the Daejeon Convention Center in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon. From left: newly elected Supreme Council members Han Min-su, Lee Sung-yoon, party leader Kim, Seo Mi-hwa, Park Seon-won and Choi Min-hee. [Yonhap]
Kim Min-seok (third from left), the newly elected leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, greets attendees after his election at the party's third regular national convention held Monday at the Daejeon Convention Center in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon. From left: newly elected Supreme Council members Han Min-su, Lee Sung-yoon, party leader Kim, Seo Mi-hwa, Park Seon-won and Choi Min-hee. [Yonhap]

Kim Min-seok was elected leader of the Democratic Party of Korea on Monday with a final vote share of 54.08% under a preferential voting system applied for the first time at the party convention. The result incorporated second-preference votes from third-place finisher Song Yeong-gil, which were redistributed to Kim and rival Jung Chung-rae. Choi Min-hee, Park Seon-won, Seo Mi-hwa, Lee Sung-yoon and Han Min-su won seats on the Supreme Council, while Kim Yong fell short.

Kim was elected at the party's third regular national convention held at the Daejeon Convention Center in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon. In his acceptance speech, Kim said he had designed the Lee Jae Myung government's "ABCD growth strategy" and pledged to now deliver the Democratic Party's "ABC Plan" — a platform centered on affordability in everyday livelihoods, broad and inclusive coalition politics, and competitiveness.

Jung, Kim's main rival, finished with 45.95%. Speaking to reporters and supporters after the convention, Jung said, "We lost in numbers, but our values and our passion did not lose." He added, "Jung Chung-rae lost, but the rights-holding members and all of you who supported Jung Chung-rae have won." He also said, "Organization cannot beat the wind, but it seems the organization was too strong this time," and offered an apology: "A sharpshooter fires without accounting for the wind. I am endlessly sorry to all of you that I could not be that sharpshooter."

Song's vote share was not disclosed, as his tallies were redistributed to the other two candidates. The leadership race was conducted under a preferential voting system in which members ranked candidates first through third. If no candidate secured a majority, the second-preference votes of the third-place finisher were to be distributed to the remaining candidates.

The final vote share combined ballots from rights-holding members and convention delegates, weighted at 70%, with a public opinion poll accounting for the remaining 30%. A one-member, one-vote rule was applied for the first time, giving rights-holding members and delegates equal weight. For this convention only, results from the South Gyeongsang Province and Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province primaries carried a 5% weighting bonus.

In the rights-holding member vote, Kim received 430,242 ballots (55.94%), outpacing Jung's 338,809 (44.06%). The total electorate of rights-holding members stood at about 1.53 million, with 769,051 casting ballots — a turnout of 50.35%.

Among national convention delegates, Kim won 9,541 votes (66.69%), well ahead of Jung's 4,765 (33.31%). The total delegate electorate was 17,667, of whom 14,306 voted, a turnout of 80.98%.

In the public opinion poll, Jung led with 50.70% against Kim's 49.30%, a margin of 1.4 percentage points. The poll was conducted Aug. 14 and 15 among 4,000 people who support the Democratic Party or identify as independents but are not rights-holding members.

The Supreme Council race, a fierce contest between allies of Lee Jae Myung and supporters of Jung Chung-rae, ended with three pro-Jung candidates winning seats — giving that faction a majority among the five elected council members. Final vote shares were: Choi Min-hee at 18.35%, Park Seon-won at 17.57%, Seo Mi-hwa at 16.60%, Lee Sung-yoon at 16.35% and Han Min-su at 15.86%.

Choi, as the top vote-getter, became the senior Supreme Council member. Pro-Lee candidate Park briefly held the cumulative lead after a strong showing in the Honam region rights-member primary, but Choi reclaimed first place in the Seoul and Gyeonggi Province round and held on from there.

In the tight race for fifth place, Kim Yong — widely regarded as President Lee Jae Myung's closest confidant — was edged out. Kim Yong had climbed to fourth place after the Honam primary, but ultimately lost that spot to Han in the Seoul and Gyeonggi Province round and in the final tally.


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