Lee Jae-myung Elected as Democratic Party Leader... Landslide Victory with 85.40% Vote Share (Update)

by Lee Dongwoo

by Oh Jieun

Published 18 Aug.2024 18:50(KST)

Updated 18 Aug.2024 18:52(KST)

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, succeeded in his re-election on the 18th. He is the first leader from the pro-democracy camp to win re-election since former President Kim Dae-jung, marking the first time in 24 years.

On the same day, the Democratic Party announced at the party convention held at KSPO Dome in Olympic Park, Songpa-gu, Seoul, that Lee was elected with a final vote share of 85.40%. This surpassed the record-high vote share of 77.77% that Lee achieved two years ago. Lee was elected party leader by a wide margin over fellow candidates Kim Du-kwan (12.12%) and Kim Ji-soo (2.48%).

In his policy speech, Lee emphasized, "I will make the Democratic Party a definite ruling party of the Republic of Korea, a competent party for the people's livelihood, and a reliable party for the citizens."

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential candidate, is delivering his policy speech at the '2024 Democratic Party of Korea 1st Regular National Party Members' Convention' held on the 18th at the KSPO Dome in Olympic Park, Songpa-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

With Lee’s re-election, the Democratic Party’s second-term leadership is expected to intensify its offensive against the Yoon Seok-youl administration. Immediately, Lee directly criticized, "The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, an anti-corruption agency, covered up the corruption of the president’s wife and drove an innocent conscientious public official to death," adding, "Even if a young person who protected the country dies unjustly, they not only fail to investigate the truth but also obstruct and even fabricate the incident."

Kim Min-seok, Kim Byung-joo, Han Jun-ho, Jeon Hyun-hee, and Lee Eon-ju were elected as Supreme Council members. Former lawmaker Jeong Bong-ju, who sparked controversy over the so-called 'Myeongpali (Lee Jae-myung promotion) debate,' was defeated, finishing sixth in the final vote count.