Kim Min-seok Elected New Leader of Democratic Party with 54.08% of Votes

[Anchor]

Rep. Kim Min-seok, a four-term lawmaker, has been elected as the new leader of the Democratic Party. As no candidate secured a majority in the first round of voting, his victory was confirmed following a ranked-choice runoff.

Reporter Go Jeong-hyeon has the details.

[Reporter]

Rep. Kim Min-seok, a four-term lawmaker and former Prime Minister in the Lee Jae-myung administration, has been elected as the new leader of the Democratic Party.

Kim secured a final vote share of 54.08%, defeating runner-up candidate Jung Cheong-rae, who garnered 45.92%, by a margin of 8.16 percentage points.

Because no candidate won a majority in the initial count, the election utilized a newly introduced ranked-choice voting system. By combining the secondary preferences of third-place candidate Song Young-gil's supporters, Kim secured his final victory.

In the public opinion poll, which accounted for 30% of the final result, Jung Cheong-rae edged out Kim with 50.7% to Kim's 49.3%. However, Kim won more than twice as many votes in the delegate balloting.

The leadership race, which had been closely contested, tipped in Kim's favor after he outpaced Jung by over 14 percentage points in the Honam primary three days ago.

In his acceptance speech, Kim emphasized a stable party-government relationship and repeatedly underscored the success of the Lee Jae-myung administration.

[Kim Min-seok / Leader, Democratic Party : The party-government relationship will be a creative and horizontal partnership of all-out cooperation, supporting the president and the government, who are at the center of state affairs. We will debate, speak truth directly, and serve as a shield for its success.]

While Kim stated, "I will become a channel for public sentiment running alongside candidates Jung Cheong-rae and Song Young-gil," his unified leadership faces a test as factional conflicts erupted during the convention process.

Regarding Kim's election, the People Power Party stated, "We are always ready to reach out for cooperation concerning people's livelihoods and national interests," while also adding, "Depending on the new leader's choices, the Democratic Party could remain a ruling party dedicated to shielding President Lee Jae-myung."

(Photo courtesy of Kim Yong-woo)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.