Kim Min-seok elected Democratic Party leader as faction split persists in leadership council

The new leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) stepped up efforts to ease factional tensions and promote unity within the party on Thursday, paying tribute to key liberal figures as part of a broader push to bring the party together. Kim Min-seok visited the grave of former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan in the central city of Sejong earlier in the day before traveling to Gyeonggi Province to pay his respects to Kim Geun-tae, the late former democracy activist-turned-politician. "We will go beyond simply winning a single parliamentary election and lay the groundwork for successive DPK administrations with the aim of achieving a golden era of 20 or 30 years," he told reporters after paying tribute to Lee. "We will carry on the legacy of former Prime Minister Lee." Kim's move came amid lingering tensions exposed during the leadership race between those aligned with President Lee Jae Myung and supporters of former DPK leader Jung Chung-rae. Rep. Jung, who had sought a second consecutive term as DPK leader, had faced criticism from some pro-Lee members who argued that he placed gr

Newly elected Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leader Kim Min-seok faces an early test of his leadership after three figures aligned with his main rival, Jung Chung-rae, won seats on the party’s five-member Supreme Council. The outcome is unlikely to threaten Kim’s control of the ruling party, as the party leader retains considerable authority over its direction. However, the composition of the new leadership means that Kim will have to manage competing factions while seeking to heal the divisions that were exposed during the leadership race and prepare the party for the 2028 general elections. Kim won the party leadership Monday with 54.08 percent of the final vote after preferential voting was applied, defeating Jung, who received 45.92 percent. The Supreme Council election, however, produced a different balance. Choi Min-hee, Lee Sung-yoon and Han Min-soo, all regarded as close to Jung, won three of the five elected seats. Park Sun-won and Seo Mi-hwa, who are aligned with President Lee Jae Myung, secured the other two. The results were tight across the board. Choi became the senior

Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok has been elected leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. His victory at the party convention on Monday, when he won 54.08 percent of the final vote against former leader Jung Chung-rae’s 45.92 percent, marks a consequential moment for both the party and the Lee Jae Myung administration. Kim’s victory, achieved after a runoff, was relatively narrow. It suggests that party members want a stable working relationship between the presidential office and the ruling party, but it also underscores the divisions exposed during the leadership contest. The new leadership faces an urgent task: healing a party fractured between Kim’s pro-Lee camp and Jung’s supporters, and replacing factional warfare with constructive debate over policy. The contest was widely seen as a showdown between Lee and Jung's political factions within the party. Yet the real differences between the two sides were less about policy than about influence and the distribution of power ahead of the next general elections. Such a contest risks turning the ruling party into an ar

The former prime minister defeated incumbent chair Jung Chung-rae 54.1 percent to 45.9 percent in the party’s chairmanship election.

Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok won the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) leadership race, Monday, edging out former party leader Jung Chung-rae to become the party's next chairman for a two-year term. Kim’s total cumulative vote share reached 54.08 percent while, Jung followed at 45.92 percent. The winner was determined by a formula weighting votes from DPK delegates and dues-paying members at 70 percent and a public opinion poll at 30 percent. Kim's total was boosted by the party's new preferential voting rules, which redistributed second-choice votes from supporters of Song Young-gil, the lowest-placed candidate, after no contender cleared a majority in the initial count.

Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok won the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) primary across Seoul and Gyeonggi Province on Sunday. Kim secured a narrow victory with 46.61 percent (148,245 votes), edging out incumbent party leader Rep. Jung Chung-rae at 46.28 percent (147,038 votes) and former party chief Rep. Song Young-gil at 7.05 percent (22,410 votes). Kim’s total cumulative vote share reached 49.91 percent, excluding regional weighting for North and South Gyeongsang provinces and Daegu. Meanwhile, Jung followed at 41.51 percent, with the gap between them at 8.4 percentage points. Kim also secured a victory in the party primary in Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces Saturday, a region viewed as a litmus test for the party's leadership race. Kim captured 57.54 percent of the vote in the party stronghold, outpacing Jung, who received 32.65 percent, and former party chief Rep. Song Young-gil, who took 9.81 percent. Before Sunday's primary, Kim led with a cumulative 235,128 votes, or 52.21 percent, across Chungcheong Province, Busan–Ulsan–South Gyeongsang Province, Jeju, Incheo