As the leadership race within the Democratic Party of Korea unfolds in an extremely tight contest, candidates are pouring their efforts into winning over party support in Honam, seen as the biggest battleground.
With Jung Chung-rae and Kim Min-seok trading the lead in the regional primaries held in the Chungcheong region and Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam, the importance of Honam — where more than 30% of all voting members are concentrated — has grown even greater.
According to political sources on the 3rd, Jung won 25,189 votes (46.65%) in the party's voting-member ballot in the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region on the 2nd, edging out Kim (23,675 votes, 43.85%) by 2.8 percentage points. He reclaimed the top spot within a day after ceding it to Kim in the Chungcheong region the previous day. Song Young-gil received 5,129 votes (9.5%).
In the cumulative vote share combining the Chungcheong region and Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam, Jung also led with 55,518 votes (45.51%), ahead of Kim (54,307 votes, 44.52%) by 0.99 percentage points. In terms of vote count, the difference is 1,211 votes. Song's cumulative vote count stood at 12,156 votes (9.97%). Each figure does not reflect the strategic-region weighting (5%) for the Gyeongnam region and will be finalized later.
Meeting reporters immediately after the vote count, Jung said, "Just as President Roh Moo-hyun defeated Rhee In-je, Jung Chung-rae will defeat Kim Min-seok." He said, "Roh Moo-hyun, who had no organization and no lawmakers, defeated Rhee In-je, who lined up organizations and lawmakers," adding, "With the spirit of Roh Moo-hyun, I will surely defeat Kim Min-seok."
He also stressed, "If I become party leader, my first action will be to order an ethics investigation into the Shincheonji allegations," adding, "If the investigation results prove that (the allegation of Shincheonji intervention in the party convention) is false, I will refer the matter to the ethics tribunal for disciplinary action and prove that the Democratic Party is not an unconstitutional party." This is interpreted as targeting Kim Min-seok, who raised the allegation of Shincheonji intervention in the party convention.
Within and outside the ruling bloc, some say it is too early to judge that the momentum has settled in either direction based on just two regional primaries. The cumulative vote gap between the two candidates is only about 1,200 votes, meaning the rankings could easily be overturned in future primaries.
Above all, with more than 70% of all voting members concentrated in Honam (30%) and the Seoul metropolitan area (40%), the outlook could shift significantly depending on the regional primary results.
After finishing the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam regional primary, Kim said on his own YouTube channel, "A gap of 1,200 votes means I did well, and I think it is not a bad result for me." He predicted, "I expect to lead in first-preference votes in Honam and the metropolitan area," adding, "Even if it is close or I am slightly ahead across Honam and the metropolitan area, since I am winning by about 10 to 15% in the opinion polls, I believe I will win overall."
The leadership contenders are all heading to Honam to court party support. Should a candidate seize victory in Honam, the Democratic Party's traditional support base, they could emerge as the "front-runner" and gain an advantageous position in the metropolitan area primaries as well — so the fight for votes among candidates is expected to grow even more intense.
Kim will hold "mega rallies" in Jeonju and Gwangju on the same day to meet party members. Kim, an honorary citizen of Iksan, North Jeolla Province, will share an anecdote about how he personally handled Hyundai Motor's Saemangeum investment during his tenure as the first prime minister of the Lee Jae-myung administration. He plans to present support strategies for North Jeolla's future industries, such as Saemangeum and physical artificial intelligence (AI), in Jeonju, and in Gwangju to emphasize plans to back the Lee Jae-myung administration's region-led growth, including an 800 trillion won Honam semiconductor cluster.
Jung, too, cannot afford to lose Honam's votes. Although he ceded the top spot to Kim in the Chungcheong region, he immediately counterattacked in Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam to take the lead, and he is expected to consolidate his position in Honam.
Song is also rallying support by touring Suncheon, Yeosu, Gwangyang and Damyang. Since declaring his candidacy on the 8th of last month and until the regional primaries began, he spent 12 of 23 days in Honam, working to win over party support. Song stressed, "The Democratic Party primary is effectively a 'one-shot primary' that hinges on Honam and the metropolitan area," adding, "I will create an upset in the final showdown."
The Democratic Party convention will continue with regional primaries starting in Jeju and Incheon on the 8th, followed by Gangwon, Daegu and North Gyeongsang on the 9th, North Jeolla, South Jeolla and Gwangju on the 15th, and Gyeonggi and Seoul on the 16th.
