Kim Doo-kwan "Will you expand the scope?" Criticism
Jung Bong-ju ranks 3rd with 15.79% in Gyeonggi primary
Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for party leader, achieved a landslide victory with over 90% of the votes in the Gyeonggi regional primary, considered his home turf. While Kim Min-seok secured first place consecutively in the Supreme Council member primary, effectively solidifying his position, Jeong Bong-ju fell to third place, showing a decline in ranking.
On the morning of the 4th, at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Seo-gu, Gwangju, Lee Jae-myung, a candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea's party leader and supreme council member, is greeting attendees at the joint speech event. [Photo by Yonhap News]
According to the Democratic Party on the 10th, Lee recorded a cumulative vote share of 89.14% in the online voting by party members for the regional tour primary to elect the party leader as of that day. Following him, Kim Du-kwan received 9.41%, and Kim Ji-soo garnered 1.45%.
On that day, the Democratic Party held the primary in the Gyeonggi region. Gyeonggi, with 270,000 voters, is the largest electoral district and is considered Lee's home base, as he previously served as governor of Gyeonggi Province. Lee, Kim Du-kwan, and Kim Ji-soo received 93.27%, 5.48%, and 1.25% of the votes in Gyeonggi, respectively. At the joint speech held at Bucheon Gymnasium in Gyeonggi, Lee said, "I am Lee Jae-myung, the first political figure born in Seongnam City and raised by our Gyeonggi Province," adding, "I was happy because the citizens and residents could be happy and hopeful."
Kim Du-kwan emphasized at the joint speech that the more the 'Lee Jae-myung one-pole system' solidifies, the harder it becomes to attract moderate voters. He said, "Including candidate Lee, the Democratic Party has many presidential candidates such as Kim Dong-yeon, governor of Gyeonggi Province; Kim Kyung-soo, former governor of South Gyeongsang Province; Lee Tan-hee, former lawmaker; and Lim Jong-seok, former presidential secretary," adding, "Is it normal for the Democratic Party to jeer at my call to diversify the party's presidential candidates to win the next presidential election?" He continued, "How can we expand our base to the center this way? We must unite internally and expand externally for our future."
The Supreme Council member primary remains highly competitive. Kim Min-seok took first place in Gyeonggi with 18.76% of the votes, followed by Kim Byung-joo (17.98%), Jeong Bong-ju (15.79%), Han Jun-ho (13.53%), Lee Eon-ju (12.25%), Jeon Hyun-hee (9.36%), Min Hyung-bae (7.46%), and Kang Seon-woo (4.87%).
Kim Min-seok is effectively consolidating his position as the top Supreme Council member. Since securing first place in the Ulsan regional primary on the 27th of last month, he has maintained his lead. Conversely, Jeong Bong-ju's ranking is declining. Jeong is facing backlash from party members after it was revealed that he said, "People like Lee Jae-myung should not become president." On the morning of the same day, Jeong stated on his Facebook, "I will officially announce my stance on various issues early next week."
Min Hyung-bae rose to fifth place based on his vote shares in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions but appears to lack momentum. After the Gyeonggi primary, Min's cumulative vote share dropped to 10.66%, placing him seventh. He received 27.77% in the Gwangju primary and 21.68% in Jeonnam.
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