Overview
- Kim Min-seok narrowly won the Chungcheong regional member vote by 303 votes, a result reported across outlets that gave him a slim opening lead.
- Jung Chung-rae rebounded in the southeastern round, winning the Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang member vote and erasing Kim's early advantage.
- After those two rounds the contest is effectively tied with Jung holding roughly 45.5 percent and Kim about 44.5 percent in cumulative first-choice totals.
- The campaign has escalated into mutual ethics accusations, with Kim saying he will refer improper factional actors to the party ethics committee and Jung countering over Kim's Shincheonji-related claims.
- The final outcome will be decided at the Aug. 17 convention in Daejeon where member and delegate votes (70 percent) plus a public-opinion survey (30 percent) and ranked-choice transfers of Song Young-gil's supporters could determine the leader.