Kim Min-seok, newly elected leader of the Democratic Party, will work alongside a Supreme Council dominated by the pro-Choi faction. The party convention held on August 17 concluded with a competitive exchange between the pro-Myung and pro-Choi factions. Notably, Kim Yong, a prominent pro-Myung member and a regular party member, finished in sixth place and was eliminated.
Pro-Myung candidates Park Sun-won and Seo Mi-hwa were elected to the Supreme Council during the convention held at the Daejeon Convention Center. Park and Seo secured 17.57% and 16.60% of the votes, respectively, maintaining their positions. In contrast, pro-Choi candidate Kim Yong received 15.26% and was eliminated.
Pro-Choi candidates Choi Min-hee, Han Min-soo, and Lee Sung-yoon also secured three seats, achieving a majority of the five available Supreme Council positions. Choi retained the top Supreme Council position with 18.35%, while Han and Lee received 15.86% and 16.35%, respectively, to secure their roles.
The Supreme Council election at this convention reflected the factional conflict between the pro-Myung and pro-Choi groups. The pro-Myung faction appealed for support by emphasizing three major projects and the success of the Lee Jae-myung administration, while the pro-Choi faction, led by Jeong Cheong-rae, promised to complete remaining reform tasks.
Initially, the pro-Myung and pro-Choi factions had five and three candidates, respectively, creating an 8-5 dynamic. However, candidates Lim Mi-ae and Kim Young-ho, who were trailing in the preliminary rounds, withdrew from the race on August 16, resulting in a balanced 3-3 situation.
During their withdrawal, Lim and Kim urged support for Kim Yong, who was competing for the fifth position. Lim emphasized the need for three Supreme Council members to effectively support the leadership under Kim Min-seok, calling for party members to back Kim Yong, Seo, and Park. Similarly, Kim Young-ho urged party members to cast their votes for Kim Yong, stressing his importance in the new party leadership.
In response, the pro-Choi faction criticized Lim and Kim for their last-minute withdrawals, accusing them of collusion by rallying support for a specific candidate. They stated, "Please choose a path that reflects the will of the party members, not backroom politics," and condemned the last-minute withdrawals as outdated behavior that disregards the choices of the public and party members.
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.