Candidates for the ruling Democratic Party’s leadership race, (L-R) Kim Min-seok, Chung Cheong-rae and Song Young-gil, hold their hands up together to greet the crowd at a joint speech for the preliminary elections for party leader and Supreme Council members at CJB Media Center in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, South Korea, 01 August 2026. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
Aug. 2 (Asia Today) — Chung Cheong-rae rebounded in the South Korean ruling Democratic Party’s leadership race Sunday, defeating Kim Min-seok in the southeastern region after narrowly losing the opening contest in central South Korea.
Chung and Kim have each won one of the first two regional rounds ahead of the party’s Aug. 17 national convention, leaving the race for party leader virtually even.
Chung received 25,189 votes, or 46.65%, from eligible party members in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang Province.
Kim finished second with 23,675 votes, or 43.84%, leaving Chung ahead by 1,514 votes, or 2.81 percentage points.
Former party leader Song Young-gil received 5,129 votes, or 9.49%. The officially reported percentages were rounded to 46.65% for Chung, 43.85% for Kim and 9.5% for Song.
Kim had narrowly won Saturday’s opening round in the Chungcheong region, which includes Daejeon, Sejong and North and South Chungcheong provinces.
Kim received 45.05%, compared with Chung’s 44.61%, a margin of 303 votes, or 0.44 percentage points. Song received 10.34%.
After the first two rounds, Chung held a narrow cumulative lead with about 45.5%, compared with Kim’s 44.5%.
The results announced during the regional contests represent only the first-choice votes of eligible party members. Delegate votes and the results of a public opinion survey will be announced at the national convention in Daejeon.
One-person, one-vote system raises importance of members
The Democratic Party finalized an electoral roll last week containing 17,667 delegates and more than 1.52 million dues-paying party members.
The leadership election is the first to apply a one-person, one-vote principle equally to delegates and eligible members, replacing a system in which individual delegate votes carried substantially more weight.
Combined votes from delegates and eligible party members will account for 70% of the final result, while a public opinion survey will make up the remaining 30%.
The large number of party members means their preferences are expected to play a decisive role.
The Chungcheong and southeastern electorates together represent less than 20% of the total party electorate, however, making it too early to predict the final outcome.
Chung told reporters after Sunday’s results that he had regained the lead.
“I have come from behind,” Chung said.
He compared his campaign with former President Roh Moo-hyun’s victory over Lee In-je during the 2002 presidential nomination race.
Chung said Roh defeated an opponent supported by an established political organization and numerous lawmakers despite having little comparable institutional backing.
“Just as Roh Moo-hyun defeated Lee In-je, who lined up organizations and lawmakers behind him, Chung Cheong-rae will defeat Kim Min-seok,” he said.
Chung also told party members during a speech at the BEXCO convention center in Busan that “organization cannot defeat a political wind.”
Candidates exchange accusations of factional betrayal
The close race has intensified a broader conflict over factions within the ruling party.
During a joint campaign speech in Ulsan, Kim called for an end to what he described as a damaging confrontation between factions aligned with President Lee Jae-myung and Chung.
“We must end the vicious cycle of the Lee-Chung conflict,” Kim said.
He said he would refer people responsible for improper factional activity during the campaign to the party’s ethics committee.
Chung responded by invoking Kim’s conduct during the 2002 presidential election.
Kim left Roh’s then-ruling party after joining lawmakers who pushed for Roh to form a unified presidential ticket with independent candidate Chung Mong-joon.
The group was widely criticized by Roh’s supporters as having abandoned the party’s presidential nominee.
“A person who betrays once will betray again,” Chung said, directing the remark at Kim.
The renewed dispute over the episode reflects the extent to which events from the 2002 presidential campaign continue to influence relationships and perceptions inside South Korea’s progressive political camp.
Song also criticized Chung’s attempt to return as party leader.
“The Democratic Party does not permit consecutive terms,” Song said. “Is there really a need to seek another term?”
Ranked-choice votes could determine winner
The Democratic Party is using a preferential voting system in the three-candidate leadership contest.
Voters rank the candidates by preference. Should no candidate receive a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate finishing last will be eliminated and that candidate’s second-choice votes will be redistributed to the remaining two contenders.
The redistribution process will continue until one candidate secures a majority.
The regional percentages released so far include only first-choice votes and do not show how Song’s supporters ranked Chung and Kim as their second choices.
With Chung and Kim each receiving less than 50%, Song’s redistributed votes could determine the winner if the close three-way pattern continues through the remaining regional contests.
The regional campaign will continue Saturday in Jeju and Incheon, followed by Gangwon Province, Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province on Aug. 9.
Voting in the Honam region, covering Gwangju and North and South Jeolla provinces, is scheduled for Aug. 15. The final regional events will take place in Gyeonggi Province and Seoul on Aug. 16.
A 5% strategic-region bonus will apply in the traditionally conservative Yeongnam and Gangwon regions.
The party leader candidates are also scheduled to participate in televised debates on KBS on Wednesday and SBS on Aug. 12.
The final result will be announced at the Democratic Party’s national convention in Daejeon on Aug. 17.
— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI
© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.
Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260802010000251