Ruling DPK leadership race narrows to 3-way competition

With the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) leadership contest now set as a three-way race, the final stretch to the Aug.

17 national convention is shaping up as a battle between continuity and closer alignment with the presidential office.

Kim Min-seok, Jung Chung-rae and Song Young-gil emerged from the party's preliminary round Thursday as the three finalists — in order of candidate registration number.

The party said 581,872 of its 1,554,259 eligible voters cast ballots, a turnout of 37.44 percent.

In accordance with party rules, neither the vote totals nor the rankings of the candidates were disclosed.

The contest is now widely expected to unfold as a showdown pitting Jung, the party's former chairman seeking reelection, against Kim and Song, both regarded as close allies of President Lee Jae Myung.

Kim, who served as the first prime minister under the Lee administration from July 2025 to June, has positioned himself as the candidate best suited to ensure close coordination between the party and the government.

Emphasizing the need for unity under the new administration, he ...