- Records final vote share of 54.08% at the 17th national convention... defeats Chung Chung-rae (45.92%) to seize party leadership
- Final confirmation through preferential voting after missing 54% majority in the first round... 4-term veteran takes the ruling party helm
- Senior Supreme Council Member Choi Min-hee joined by Lee Sung-yoon and Han Min-soo... large influx of 'pro-Chung' leadership
- Faces test of securing party-government momentum and healing convention aftershocks amid stagnant presidential approval ratings

Rep. Kim Min-seok (4-term, Seoul Yeongdeungpo-ul) has been elected as the new leader of the Democratic Party.

At the Democratic Party national convention held at the Daejeon Convention Center on the 17th, newly elected leader Kim Min-seok secured a final vote share of 54.08%, defeating candidate Chung Chung-rae, who stopped at 45.92%. This race combined delegate and rights-holding party member votes (70%) with public opinion polls (30%). Although Kim failed to secure a majority in the first round, he ultimately grasped the party leadership following the final tally under the preferential voting system.

In the simultaneous Supreme Council election, Reps. Choi Min-hee (2-term), Park Sun-won (1-term), Seo Mi-hwa (1-term), Lee Sung-yoon (1-term), and Han Min-soo (1-term) entered the leadership in order. Among them, three figures—including Rep. Choi Min-hee, who rose to Senior Supreme Council Member with the most votes, along with Lee Sung-yoon and Han Min-soo—are classified as belonging to the 'pro-Chung (pro-Chung Chung-rae) faction.' Conversely, candidate Kim Yong, considered a presidential close aide, suffered defeat.

Taking the helm of the ruling party amid a stagnant approval rating for President Lee, the newly elected leader Kim faces heavy tasks of policy coordination between the party and government and the recovery of state governance momentum. In particular, since non-leadership-leaning Supreme Council members make up the majority of the leadership, his leadership in resolving factional friction that arose during the convention and leading intra-party unity is expected to be his first test.