Jeong Cheongrae Targets Honam Votes in Gwangju with 'One Member, One Vote' Initiative

"Party Members Are the Owners of the Party"… Highlights One Member, One Vote Achievement

Calls for Unity in Honam to Ensure the "Success of the Lee Jaemyung Administration"

Five Candidates Confirmed for Leader—Preliminary Election Begins on July 21

As the Democratic Party of Korea’s leadership election enters its final stages, former leader Jeong Cheongrae visited Gwangju, South Jeolla Province, placing his ‘One Member, One Vote’ initiative at the forefront and appealing to party members in the Honam region. He presented party member democracy as his key achievement and worked hard to rally support by emphasizing the case for the success of the Lee Jaemyung administration.

According to the political community on July 18, Jeong attended a series of local party member meetings in Seogu Gap and Bukgu Gap, Gwangju, on the previous day. He stated, “From now on, everyone will be able to vote fairly on a one-person, one-vote basis. Who made this happen? The party members and I made it happen.”

Yonhap News

He emphasized, “Just as the people are the owners of the country, party members are the owners of the party. Wherever I go, when people see me, they thank me for making the one-member, one-vote system possible. That made me realize how significant this really is.”

He also mentioned the potential for increased tax revenue due to the recent boom in the semiconductor industry, saying, “How we use this tax revenue for public welfare will be the key issue going forward. To ensure the success of the Lee Jaemyung administration and create a fifth Democratic Party president, we must unite and work together.”

At the Bukgu Gap party member meeting in Gwangju on the morning of July 18, Jeong also highlighted the competitiveness of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry and called for support for President Lee Jaemyung.

Jeong said, “The United States, China, and South Korea all have a high chance of becoming top-tier countries through the AI revolution. Please give a round of applause to President Lee, who is wisely embracing these changes and pushing forward policies.”

On this day, Jeong also revealed the enthusiastic response to his fundraising campaign.

On his Facebook page, he wrote, “Apparently, some YouTube broadcast reported that my sponsorship account was short by 20 million won. In just one night, 380 million won were deposited. I have to return 360 million won, one by one. It’s a hassle, but I am incredibly grateful for it to the point of tears.” He continued, “Because it’s the weekend, I can’t close the sponsorship account. Please stop sending money to my account and instead support the accounts of Assembly members Choi Minhee, Lee Seongyun, and Han Minsu.”

From the left, former Prime Minister Minseok Kim, candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea’s August 17 party leadership election; former Democratic Party of Korea leader Cheongrae Jung; Congressman Youngkil Song; Congresswoman Gomin Jung; and former Gangjin County Council member Bomi Kim. Yonhap News Agency

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of Korea has completed registration for the August 17 party convention candidates and has officially begun the leadership race.

According to the Central Election Committee of the Democratic Party, five candidates have registered for the party leader election, in ballot order: Kim Minseok, Go Minjung, Jeong Cheongrae, Kim Bomi, and Song Younggil. Fourteen candidates registered for the Supreme Council member election: Park Sunwon, Lee Geontae, Lee Seongyun, Kim Yong, Park Seongjun, Park Seungwon, Jeong Mincheol, Han Minsu, Seo Mihwa, Choi Minhee, Kim Yeongho, Lim Miae, Shin Gyeryun, and Kim Hyeongnam (in ballot order).

This party convention will, for the first time, introduce a ranked-choice voting system for electing the party leader. If no candidate receives a majority in the first round, the lowest-ranking candidate is eliminated, and ballots that selected that candidate as their first choice will be redistributed to their second-choice candidate.

Through a preliminary election on July 21, the Democratic Party will narrow the candidate list down to three for party leader and eight for Supreme Council members. The main election will commence on August 1 in the Chungcheong region and proceed regionally, including Jeonbuk, Jeonnam, and Gwangju on August 15, followed by Gyeonggi and Seoul on August 16. The final leadership will be elected at the August 17 convention.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.