Kim Min-seok wins DP leadership, pledges 'equal partnership' with Lee government
The former prime minister won 54.08 percent of the vote and vowed to support President Lee Jae Myung while reviewing divisive real estate tax policies.
Newly-elected Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok waves the party flag after being elected at the national convention at Daejeon Convention Center in Daejeon on Aug. 17.YONHAP
Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok stressed that the relationship between the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and the government would be “a creative and equal partnership based on full cooperation” after he was elected as the new leader of the DP in an election on Monday.
“The DP will go beyond being a party rooted in history and democracy to become a party that takes responsibility for people’s livelihoods,” Kim said after his election at the party's national convention in Daejeon. “The relationship between the party and the government will be a creative and equal partnership based on full cooperation, with the president and the government at the center of state affairs. We will work for the success of President Lee Jae Myung and his government, because their success is the success of the people.”
The former prime minister received 54.08 percent of the votes, besting former DP leader Jung Chung-rae with 45.92 percent after no candidate won a majority in the first round, which also included candidate DP Rep. Song Young-gil.
Votes from party delegates and dues-paying party members accounted for 70 percent of the final result in the ranked-choice vote, with votes from the general public accounting for the remaining 30 percent.
Kim served four terms as a DP lawmaker and senior DP supreme council member from 2024 to 2025. His two-year term as DP leader also comes after working as the Lee Jae Myung administration's first prime minister.
Jung, a four-term lawmaker, failed to secure a second consecutive term as DP chief.
Jung resigned as DP chairman to run again for party chief after leading the DP to a resounding victory in the June 3 local elections, where the ruling party won 12 of 16 mayoral and gubernatorial seats.
Under Korean party rules, one must resign from the leadership post before registering as a candidate to run for the position again at the national convention.
For Song, a six-term lawmaker, winning this year’s race would have marked his return to the chief position after serving as DP leader from May 2021 to March 2022.
Now in charge of the DP, Kim will have authority to nominate candidates for the 2028 general elections if he stays in the post. The 2028 elections will determine whether Lee will finish his term, which ends in 2030, with sufficient legislative support.
Monday’s national convention also saw five DP supreme council members being elected: Choi Min-hee, Seo Mi-hwa, Han Min-soo, Lee Sung-yoon and Park Sun-won.
Newly elected Democratic Party (DP) leader Kim Min-seok, third from left, and the five newly elected DP supreme council members celebrate at the party’s national convention at the Daejeon Convention Center in Daejeon on Aug. 17. From left: Supreme Council members Han Min-soo and Lee Sung-yoon, DP leader Kim Min-seok, and Supreme Council members Seo Mi-hwa, Park Sun-won and Choi Min-hee.YONHAP
The new DP leadership comes as President Lee’s approval rating continues to decline, falling to 43 percent, its lowest level since his inauguration last year, according to a poll released by pollster Realmeter on Monday.
The DP leadership faces the task of supporting policies pursued by the Lee administration that have divided public opinion, including controversial real estate tax reforms.
The government decided to raise property taxes on single homeowners who do not live in their own homes, drawing criticism from those who temporarily live elsewhere.
On Thursday, Kim expressed his intention to review the policy.
“We need to ask whether the policy properly took into account people's circumstances, including single homeowners,” he said.
