Lee Jae-myung, 83.61% in Gwangju and 82.48% in Jeonnam
Kim Doo-kwan Surpasses 10% Cumulative Vote Share
Min Hyung-bae Ranks 5th in Cumulative Supreme Council Election
Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for party leader, continued his landslide victory in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regional primaries, considered the heart of the democratic camp. Min Hyung-bae, who was ranked lowest in cumulative votes until last week's Supreme Council member primary, rose to 5th place, the cutoff for Supreme Council member selection, in his home turf.
On the morning of the 4th, at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Seo-gu, Gwangju, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader candidate, is delivering his policy speech at the joint debate for the Democratic Party leader and Supreme Council member candidates. [Image source=Yonhap News]
According to the Democratic Party on the 4th, Lee recorded a cumulative vote share of 86.97% in the online voting by party members for the regional tour primary to elect the party leader. Candidates Kim Doo-kwan and Kim Ji-soo received 11.49% and 1.55%, respectively.
On that day, the Democratic Party held primaries in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions. In Gwangju, Lee, Kim Doo-kwan, and Kim Ji-soo received 83.61%, 14.56%, and 1.82% of the votes, respectively. In Jeonnam, Lee garnered 82.48%, Kim Doo-kwan 15.66%, and Kim Ji-soo 1.87% of the vote share.
As the primary to elect the next leadership of the Democratic Party passes the halfway mark, Lee has effectively begun solidifying his re-election as party leader. After completing a joint speech event held at the multipurpose gymnasium of the Naju Sports Park in Jeonnam, Lee told reporters, "I am grateful for the unwavering high support," adding, "I feel a sense of responsibility commensurate with the high approval ratings."
Candidate Kim Doo-kwan surpassed the 10% cumulative vote share threshold based on his results in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions. It is interpreted that Kim was chosen to check Lee’s dominance within the democratic camp. Kim said, "It seems that the encouragement was to not give up and do our best in Honam, the Democratic Party’s stronghold," adding, "There are many concerns and worries among party members about the support being heavily concentrated on one side."
Lee Jae-myung solidifies party leader re-election... Min Hyung-bae consecutively ranks 1st in home turf
On the morning of the 4th, Min Hyung-bae, a candidate for the Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is delivering his policy speech at the joint speech meeting for party leader and Supreme Council member candidates held at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Seo-gu, Gwangju. [Image source=Yonhap News]
After the Gwangju and Jeonnam regional primaries on that day, the cumulative vote shares of Supreme Council member candidates were tallied as follows: Kim Min-seok 17.58%, Chung Bong-ju 15.61%, Han Jun-ho 13.81%, Jeon Hyun-hee 12.59%, Min Hyung-bae 12.31%, Kim Byung-joo 11.82%, Lee Eon-ju 11.17%, and Kang Seon-woo 5.12%.
Unlike the party leader primary, the Supreme Council member primary shows fluctuating trends as it passes through the Honam region. The number of party members with voting rights in Honam is about 370,000, accounting for approximately 30% of the total party member voting pool (about 1.22 million).
Candidate Min consecutively ranked 1st in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regional primaries, raising his cumulative vote share ranking to 5th place. Last week, Min Hyung-bae was ranked lowest with a cumulative vote share of 5.99%. It is interpreted that Min, whose constituency is Gwangsan-gu Eul in Gwangju, improved his vote ranking through local public sentiment. Candidate Han Jun-ho also performed well, ranking 3rd consecutively with 11.67% in the Gwangju primary and 12.51% in the Jeonnam primary. Last week, Han’s cumulative vote share was 12.06%, ranking 6th.
Min Hyung-bae, who was last, rose to 5th place, while Han Jun-ho moved up to 3rd place from 6th. Meanwhile, Kim Byung-joo, who was 3rd until last week, dropped to 6th, and Lee Eon-ju fell from 5th to 7th. In the Supreme Council member primary, where only five are selected, they have slipped below the cutoff line. Chung Bong-ju gave up the 1st place position to Kim Min-seok, who volunteered as Lee Jae-myung’s running mate.
The Democratic Party plans to hold the remaining primaries on the 10th in Gyeonggi, the 11th in Daejeon and Sejong, and the 17th in Seoul. At the party convention on the 18th, one party leader and five Supreme Council members will be elected by reflecting 56% party member votes, 14% delegates, and 30% general public opinion polls, respectively.
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