3 candidates to be shortlisted for ruling party's leadership race

Lead

The ruling Democratic Party (DP) of South Korea has shortlisted three candidates to advance to the final round of its leadership race, according to a party official on Thursday. Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok and two former party leaders, Jung Chung-rae and Song Young-gil, ranked in the top three in the primary and will compete at the party's national convention on Aug. 17, as reported by Yonhap News Agency.

Coverage Comparison

Yonhap News Agency, South Korea's leading wire service, provided multiple reports covering the leadership race from its announcement stage through to the primary results. The coverage traced the candidacy of Jung Chung-rae, his initial declaration turning the race into a five-way contest, and the party's subsequent decision to adopt a ranked choice voting system for the election. Later reports confirmed the final three candidates and detailed the vote calculation methodology used in the primary.

The reports consistently noted the significance of the leadership race, pointing out that the new party leader will play a key role in overseeing the nomination of candidates for the April 2028 parliamentary elections.

Key Claims

Five-way race becomes three

Jung Chung-rae, who stepped down as leader last month to run for reelection, declared his bid on July 13, turning the leadership election into a five-way race. He competed against former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, Reps. Song Young-gil and Ko Min-jung, and former Gangjin councilmember Kim Bo-mi in the Aug. 17 national convention, as reported by Yonhap.

After a three-day primary that concluded on Thursday, Kim Min-seok, Jung Chung-rae, and Song Young-gil advanced to the final round. Ko Min-jung and Kim Bo-mi failed to make the cut, according to So Byung-hoon, chief of the party convention election committee, as cited by Yonhap.

Candidate selection method

According to Yonhap, the top three candidates were chosen based on 35 percent of the votes cast by the party's central committee members, 35 percent from dues-paying members, and the remaining 30 percent from public opinion poll results. For the party's supreme council, eight out of 14 candidates advanced to the final round.

Ranked choice voting system

Before the primary, the DP decided to seek a revision to its party rules to adopt a ranked choice voting system for the leadership election, as reported by Yonhap. Under this system, voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no candidate wins a majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and votes are redistributed according to voters' next preferences until one candidate secures a majority, eliminating the need for a separate runoff.

The decision was announced by Rep. Kang Jun-hyeon, the party's senior spokesperson, following a closed-door meeting of the party's supreme council. The move drew opposition from lawmakers aligned with Jung Chung-rae, with Rep. Lee Sung-yoon resigning from the council in protest, calling the move "completely unacceptable." During the meeting, the supreme council also voted down a proposal to reserve one of the five elected supreme council member seats for a young party member.

Candidate profiles and statements

Jung Chung-rae, a four-term lawmaker, faced criticism from some party members closely aligned with President Lee Jae Myung for focusing on appealing to his own hard-line supporters instead of fully backing the president, as reported by Yonhap. He denied plans to run for president using the office of party leader, stating, "I will not run for president using the office of party leader."

Kim Min-seok, a key political ally of President Lee who served as the first prime minister under the current administration, pledged to work for the success of the Lee administration and make sweeping changes in the party, saying the party had failed to capitalize on Lee's strong public approval during the June 3 local elections, according to Yonhap.

Perspectives

Jung Chung-rae's camp

Jung Chung-rae declared his bid for reelection, vowing to stand by President Lee Jae Myung's side until the end and to devote himself wholeheartedly to the administration's stable running of state affairs and the party's success in future elections. He denied any intention to run for president using the party leader position.

Pro-Lee party members' criticism

Some party members closely aligned with President Lee have criticized Jung for focusing on appealing to his own hard-line supporters rather than fully backing the president. They have also raised suspicions that he is trying to run for president after strengthening his grip on the party, as reported by Yonhap.

Opposition to ranked choice voting

Rep. Lee Sung-yoon, a pro-Jung lawmaker, resigned from the supreme council in protest against the adoption of the ranked choice voting system, calling it "completely unacceptable" and arguing that it violates the party's constitution and rules.