The Democratic Party of Korea has tentatively decided to hold its national convention on Aug. 17 to elect a new leadership, including the party chair.
Cho Seung-rae, the party's secretary-general, held a press briefing at the National Assembly Wednesday and relayed the contents of a closed-door supreme council discussion. "A consensus was reached to hold the convention in August, on the 17th, the earliest available date," Cho said. "To proceed with the Aug. 17 convention, an amendment to the party constitution's supplementary provisions is needed. We will complete the institutional arrangements regarding timing and procedures through this week's supreme council meeting and party affairs committee, and next week's central committee," Cho explained.
The Democratic Party will then form a convention preparation committee and an election management committee, and accept candidate registrations for party chair and supreme council members. If there are four or more candidates for party chair, a primary will be held ahead of the main race. The leadership election will be conducted as a tour across regional districts nationwide.
The convention is expected to be held in Daejeon. "Under the late-August, early-September schedule that had been considered, it was difficult to secure a venue large enough to hold the convention," a Democratic Party official said. "Considering the venue issue, Aug. 17 was unavoidable." The timing also reflects consideration of the 2024 convention, held on Aug. 18, at which President Lee Jae-myung was elected party chair.
Party chair Jung Chung-rae, who is widely expected to seek another term, is anticipated to step down from his post before candidate registration and join the race. "There is no deadline for the chair's resignation in the party constitution and regulations, but there is a precedent of President Lee resigning to seek reappointment during his time as chair," Cho said. "At that time, then-chair Lee Jae-myung resigned before the convention preparation committee was formed."
In addition to Jung, Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, who has expressed his intention to resign as prime minister, has confirmed his candidacy for the party chair race. In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, Kim said, "The next mission is to build a strong and capable Democratic Party that realizes the zeitgeist of the Lee Jae-myung administration." Former party chair Song Young-gil, who returned as a six-term lawmaker through a by-election, former National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, and Rep. Kim Yong-min are also classified as potential candidates. The party chair elected this time will hold the power to nominate candidates for the 2028 general election.
