Kim Minseok, Chung Cheongrae, and Song Younggil Likely to Lead Three-Way Race... Democratic Party Announces Convention Cutoff

Central Committee Voting in the Preliminary Race Emerges as a Key Variable
Supreme Council Election Remains Unpredictable

The Democratic Party of Korea will announce the results of the preliminary election for candidates for party leader and Supreme Council at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the afternoon of July 23, following a three-day run-up to the 8·17 National Convention. Five candidates ran for party leader: former Prime Minister Kim Minseok, Assemblywoman Ko Minjung, former leader Chung Cheongrae, former Gangjin County Council member Kim Bomi, and Assemblyman Song Younggil (listed in order of ballot numbers). The results are determined by combining votes from the Central Committee (composed of assembly members, city and provincial party chairpersons, standing advisors, mayors, and governors) at 35%, registered party member votes at 35%, and a public opinion poll at 30%, with three of the five advancing to the finals.

(Seoul=Yonhap News) Democratic Party leader candidates Kim Min-seok (front row from left), Ko Min-jung, Chung Cheong-rae, Kim Bo-mi, and Song Young-gil, along with Supreme Council member candidates, attended the joint preliminary speech meeting for party leader and Supreme Council member candidates held at the Democratic Party Central Office member zone in Yeouido, Seoul, on July 20, 2026, and posed for a commemorative photo. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

Fourteen candidates are running for the Supreme Council, including Assembly members Park Sunwon, Lee Guntae, Lee Sungyun, former vice president of the Democratic Research Institute Kim Yong, Assemblyman Park Sungjun, Gwangmyeong Mayor Park Seungwon, Policy Committee Vice Chairman Jung Mincheol, Assembly Members Han Minsoo, Seo Mihwa, Choi Minhui, Kim Youngho, Lim Miae, former assemblyman Shin Gyeryun, and former Military Human Rights Center Secretary-General Kim Hyungnam (listed in order of ballot numbers). This will be narrowed down to eight finalists through an online vote, with Central Committee votes weighted at 50% and registered party member votes also at 50%.

The dominant outlook is that Kim Minseok, Chung Cheongrae, and Song Younggil will advance to the final round of the party leader election. The key factor is the vote share for each candidate. Although the rankings for the preliminary race are not made public, each candidate is informed of their own vote share, which allows some estimation of their standing. Depending on the vote share, the strategies for first and second place could shift. Recent trends in opinion polls show Kim Minseok and Chung Cheongrae swapping leads for first place. On this day, former leader Chung disclosed the results of a poll tallying him in first place and commented, "Among all voters, among Democratic Party supporters, among progressives, and among those in their 40s and 50s, the Chung Cheongrae trend is gaining traction." However, some view Ko Minjung, who is expected to win strong Central Committee support in the preliminary round, as a variable in the race.

The Supreme Council election remains difficult to predict because, despite high party member name recognition, the leanings of the Central Committee remain uncertain. Whether all three pro-Chung (pro-Chung Cheongrae) candidates Lee Sungyun, Han Minsoo, and Choi Minhui will make it to the finals is a key point of interest. Meanwhile, Kim Minseok's camp has maintained that candidates advancing to the final round may later be selected as running mates.

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