Kim Min-seok Elected Democratic Party Leader With 54.08% in Preferential Vote

Kim Min-seok, a four-term lawmaker, was elected leader of South Korea’s Democratic Party. The race was decided by a preferential vote after no candidate won a majority in the first round.

The party held its national convention at the Daejeon Convention Center on Aug. 17 and picked Kim as the second ruling-party leader under President Lee Jae-myung’s administration. Kim won 54.08% of the final vote, defeating Jung Chung-rae, who received 45.92%.

The contest combined delegate and party-member voting, which accounted for 70%, with a public opinion poll weighted at 30%. Because no candidate secured a majority in the first tally, the race moved to a preferential vote.

Under the preferential voting system, voters rank candidates by preference. If no candidate wins a majority in the initial count, votes cast for the lowest-ranked candidate are redistributed based on the next preference to determine the winner.

Kim takes over the ruling party as support for Lee’s administration declines. He now faces the task of backing the government’s policy agenda while easing internal party tensions that intensified during the convention process.

Kim, who represents Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo-B district, served as the first prime minister under the Lee Jae-myung administration. In the campaign, he called for stable coordination between the party and government and stressed the success of the Lee administration.

Kim Hee-seon, Hankyung.com reporter, gimme_sun@hankyung.com