Kim Du-gwan Struggles at Home... "Gaeddal Occupies the Democratic Party"
Kim Min-seok Ranks 1st in Bu, Ulsan, Gyeongnam... Chasing Jeong Bong-ju
In the regional primaries for the next leader of the Democratic Party of Korea held in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam, candidate Lee Jae-myung continued his landslide victory. Candidate Kim Doo-kwan struggled, only surpassing a 10% vote share in Gyeongnam, considered his home turf. In the race for Supreme Council members, candidate Kim Min-seok took first place consecutively in the Bu-Ul-Gyeong region, chasing candidate Jeong Bong-ju.
On the morning of the 21st, the second day of the regional primary elections for the election of the new leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea, candidates Kim Ji-su (from left), Kim Du-kwan, and Lee Jae-myung raised their hands to greet party members at the joint speech event held at Hongcheon Sports Complex in Hongcheon-gun, Gangwon Province. [Image source=Yonhap News]
According to the Democratic Party on the 27th, candidate Lee recorded a cumulative vote share of 90.89% in the online voting by party members during the regional primaries for party leader selection. Candidate Kim Doo-kwan received 8.02%, and candidate Kim Ji-soo received 1.09% of the cumulative votes.
The primaries began in Ulsan. Candidate Lee received 90.56%, Kim Doo-kwan 8.08%, and Kim Ji-soo 1.36% of the votes in Ulsan. In the subsequent Busan primary, Lee garnered 92.08%, Kim Doo-kwan 7.04%, and Kim Ji-soo 0.89%. Finally, in the Gyeongnam regional primary, Lee achieved 87.22%, Kim Doo-kwan 11.67%, and Kim Ji-soo 1.11% of the vote share.
Candidate Lee secured over 90% of the votes again in the second week of primaries, solidifying his bid for re-election as party leader. In the primaries held last weekend in Jeju, Incheon, Gangwon, and Daegu, Lee received a cumulative vote share of 91.7%, demonstrating the 'Lee Jae-myung unipolar system.' After concluding the joint speech event in Gyeongnam, Lee told reporters, "Party members have entrusted me with a great burden," adding, "I feel a strong sense of responsibility."
Candidate Kim Doo-kwan continued to criticize the 'Lee Jae-myung unipolar system' but failed to make significant progress. Although Bu-Ul-Gyeong is considered Kim's home turf, given his past roles as governor of Gyeongsangnam-do and member of the National Assembly for Yangsan-si Eul in Gyeongnam, he did not achieve meaningful results. At the joint speech event in Busan, Kim said, "The 'Gaeddal' have taken over the Democratic Party," questioning, "Do you think we can win the local elections and the presidential election like this?" He added, "We need to look at this coldly," emphasizing, "In the previous day's poll, the People Power Party's support rate was 11 percentage points lower than ours." Kim Doo-kwan's remarks were met with jeers from the audience.
Kim Min-seok Takes 1st Place in Bu-Ul-Gyeong, Rising from 4th to 2nd Overall... Jeong Bong-ju Maintains 1st Place
On the afternoon of the 25th, at the auditorium of the National Assembly Library in Yeouido, Seoul, candidates for the Democratic Party of Korea's Supreme Council held a broadcast debate. From left to right, Han Junho, Jeong Bong-ju, Min Hyeong-bae, Lee Eon-ju, Jeon Hyun-hee, Kim Byeong-ju, Kim Min-seok, and Kang Seon-woo are taking a commemorative photo. Photo by Yonhap News.
However, there was a change in rankings in the Supreme Council member race. Candidate Kim Min-seok took first place in all the primaries held that day, receiving 20.05% in Ulsan, 21.51% in Busan, and 19.75% in Gyeongnam. Although he was only 4th in the cumulative ranking after last weekend's primaries, he rose to 2nd place (16.05%) after the Bu-Ul-Gyeong regional primaries.
Candidate Jeong Bong-ju maintained his cumulative 1st place position (19.68%) by receiving 16.1% in Ulsan, 17.63% in Busan, and 16.99% in Gyeongnam. In 3rd place cumulatively was candidate Kim Byung-ju with 14.76% of the votes. Following were Jeon Hyun-hee (13.13%), Lee Eon-ju (12.11%), Han Jun-ho (11.81%), Kang Seon-woo (6.32%), and Min Hyung-bae (6.14%).
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