Ahead of the Democratic Party's 2nd Primary Results Announcement, 'Non-Moon Faction and Senior Members' on Edge

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Ahead of the announcement of the results of the Democratic Party of Korea's second primary, there is a tense atmosphere among non-incumbent pro-Bi-moon (anti-Moon Jae-in) figures. Following the first announcement, where prominent pro-Bi-moon senior lawmakers Lee Seok-hyun and Lee Jong-gul were excluded from the nomination list, there are concerns that this trend will be repeated in the second primary.

The Democratic Party plans to announce the results for 13 out of the 14 constituencies where the second primary was held at the party headquarters on the afternoon of the 28th. Since all second primary contests are between non-incumbent figures, attention is focused on the battles between former Blue House officials and non-Blue House officials.

First, the constituencies where former Blue House officials competed in the primaries are Seoul Gwanak-eul (Jeong Tae-ho, former Senior Secretary for Jobs & Economy, Yoo Jong-pil, former Mayor of Gwanak District), Gyeonggi Seongnam Jungwon (Yoon Young-chan, former Senior Secretary for Public Communication at the Blue House, Jo Shin, former regional committee chairman), Seoul Dobong-eul (Kang Jeong-gu, Senior Administrator at the National Crisis Management Center, Oh Ki-hyung, former regional committee chairman), Gyeonggi Suwon Gap (Kim Seung-won, former Blue House administrator, Lee Jae-jun, former Deputy Mayor of Suwon), and Michuhol-gu Eul (Nam Young-hee, former administrator at the Office of the Secretary-General, Park Woo-seop, former district mayor), totaling five constituencies.

In Gwangmyeong-eul (Kang Sin-seong vs. Yang Ki-dae), the contest is between former Democratic Party central party leaders and the mayor of Gwangmyeong, but Kang Sin-seong’s book launch event attracted attention as key pro-Moon (pro-Moon Jae-in) figures such as Im Jong-sung, Kim Young-joo, Jeon Hae-cheol, and Choi Jae-sung attended. One candidate from the constituencies scheduled for announcement said, "If the first primary results are any indication, there is talk that those classified as pro-Moon will ultimately win in the second primary as well."

Regarding former Democratic Research Institute Director Kim Min-seok’s unexpected victory over Shin Kyung-min, which was considered an unusual win amid fierce attacks from the 'pro-Roh (pro-Roh Moo-hyun)' faction closely aligned with the pro-Moon camp, there is analysis suggesting the influence of pro-Moon forces. Kim Min-seok’s brother, Professor Kim Min-woong, is known for actively representing former Justice Minister Cho Kuk’s position as the chairman of the Cho Kuk White Paper Promotion Committee. Representative Yoo Seung-hee, who was eliminated in the first primary, held a press conference expressing her refusal to accept the results, stating she would "demand a thorough inspection of the raw data of the primary voting." Shin Kyung-min has not yet expressed any objection.

However, pro-Moon figures consider such analysis excessive. In the first primary, Representative Kim Han-jung defeated former Blue House Personnel Secretary Kim Bong-jun, and in Eunpyeong-eul, Representative Kang Byung-won defeated former Deputy Secretary for Balanced Development Kim Woo-young. Only former Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary Kim Young-bae defeated incumbent Representative Yoo Seung-hee to secure the nomination.

Meanwhile, the second primary announcement will also determine the outcome for former Ulsan Deputy Mayor Song Byung-ki and former Ulsan City Party Chairman Shim Gyu-myung, who were indicted over allegations of Blue House interference in the Ulsan mayoral election. The announcement for Gwangju Buk-gu Eul, originally scheduled for today, was postponed due to a controversy over the spread of false information between Democratic Party Supreme Council member Lee Hyung-seok and former Blue House administrator Jeon Jin-sook. The Democratic Party plans to announce the results of the third primary on the 29th.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.