Lee Jae-myung, who won a party election and can thus serve another term as chairman of the Democratic Party, answers questions from the press after the national party congress on August 18, 2024 at the KSPO Dome in Seoul’s Songpa district. (Pool photo)
Lee Jae-myung secured another term as Democratic Party chairman with over 80% of the vote. This is the first time a Democratic Party chairman has been re-elected since 2000, when the party was led by former President Kim Dae-jung, in an era when party leadership was more centralized.
Lee secured the party chairmanship with 85.4% of the votes cast during Sunday’s party congress held at the KSPO Dome in Seoul’s Songpa district. He defeated candidates Kim Doo-kwan, who received 12.12%, and Kim Ji-soo, who received 2.48%. Lee’s vote share surpassed his previous record of 77.77%, the highest in the party’s history. The final voter turnout in the party chairmanship election was 42.7%.
Lee had secured an overall vote share of 89.9% in online voting by party members in 17 regional primaries that ended the previous day. He also secured over 80% of the vote in an Automated Response System (ARS) vote of party members (83.57%) and over 80% in a general public opinion poll (85.18%). Both votes were announced on the day of the convention. However, his share of the delegate vote was slightly lower at 74.89%, with Kim Doo-kwan securing 21.15%.
In his victory speech, Lee stressed that “the most important task of politics is to care about people’s lives and create hope,” and proposed a cross-party summit with President Yoon Suk-yeol in his capacity as the new chairman of the Democrats. He also called for a meeting with Han Dong-hoon, chairman of the People Power Party, and stressed the need for open talks on a law for a special prosecutor’s investigation into the death of a Korean marine.
Lee is running under the slogan of “livelihoodism,” a term he coined to emphasize the need to address issues related to the cost of living of the population. He further stated, “We must now become a more competent party in each of our roles, taking full responsibility for the lives of Korean citizens.” He also highlighted key policy goals, including targeted investments in renewable energy and preparing a “universal grassroots society.”
After his election, Lee appointed National Assembly member Lee Hae-sik, a political ally, as his chief of staff and Jo Seoung-lae, who is not on the side of the new party leader, as the party’s chief spokesman.
In a separate election for the party’s Supreme Council, Kim Min-seok received the most votes, followed by Jeon Hyun-heui in second place and Han Jun-ho in third. Kim Byung-joo and Lee Un-ju secured fourth and fifth places, respectively.
Former lawmaker Chung Bong-joo, who was one of the favorites in the regional primaries, dropped to sixth place after his comments about party members exploiting their connection to Lee Jae-myung for their own political power sparked strong reactions and prevented him from winning a seat on the council. As a result, all five elected members belong to the party’s pro-Lee Jae-myung faction. Voter turnout in the Supreme Council election was 42.8%.
Lee’s first official act as party leader will be a visit to Seoul National Cemetery on Monday to pay his last respects.
By Lee Woo-yun, Editor
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