The Democratic Party of Korea is set to hold its party convention on August 17, as factional conflicts intensify. Although the so-called 'rule war' over the introduction of a preference voting system and the failure to establish a youth supreme council member has concluded, strategic choices among factions in the preliminary and final elections are expected to determine the outcome.
According to political sources on July 19, the Democratic Party will begin preliminary elections on July 21 to narrow down candidates for party leader and supreme council members. Currently, there are five candidates for party leader and 14 candidates for supreme council member, but the plan is to reduce this to three party leader candidates and eight supreme council member candidates through the preliminary elections.
Insiders suggest that among the party leader candidates, Kim Min-seok, a former prime minister aligned with the pro-Lee faction, Song Young-gil, a member of the National Assembly, and Jung Cheong-rae, a former party leader aligned with the pro-Jung faction, are likely to advance to the final round.
The preference voting system is expected to be a key factor in the final election. This system allows voters to list their top three preferred candidates on a single ballot. If a candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes in the first round, they will be declared the winner. However, if no candidate achieves a majority, subsequent choices will be counted to determine the winner. Some have criticized this method as advantageous to the pro-Lee faction, while the pro-Jung faction has opposed it, claiming it violates party rules.
Additionally, the supreme council member elections, which will determine the running mates for the party leader candidates, are also under scrutiny. Even if a candidate is elected as party leader, their leadership will be influenced by how many allies they can secure on the supreme council.
The pro-Lee faction includes lawmakers Park Sung-jun, Seo Mi-hwa, and Lee Geon-tae, as well as Kim Yong, a former deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute. The pro-Song faction includes members Kim Young-ho and Park Sun-won. Other notable figures in the pro-Lee faction include lawmakers Im Mi-ae, Kim Hyung-nam, deputy policy chair Jung Min-cheol, and Gwangmyeong Mayor Park Seung-won.
The pro-Jung faction includes lawmakers Lee Sung-yoon, Choi Min-hee, and Han Min-soo. Former lawmaker Shin Gye-ryun, who served four terms, is classified as part of the pro-Roh faction.
During this party convention, a total of five supreme council members will be elected. If no women are elected, the female candidate with the highest votes will take the place of the fifth highest vote-getter. Predictions suggest that if votes are split between pro-Lee members Seo and Im, pro-Jung member Choi could benefit from this division.
Since both the party leader and the floor leader can participate in supreme council decisions, the party leader must ensure that at least two allied supreme council members are elected to secure a decisive advantage in decision-making.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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