Lee Jae-myung closer to second term as DP chief after primary victories

Rep. Lee Jae-myung is on track to secure a second term as chairman of the liberal Democratic Party (DP) after winning multiple primaries for the party's top post over the weekend.

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, left, smiles as he talks to Democratic Party Supreme Council members Jeong Chung-rae, middle, and Seo Young-kyo, right, before candidates for the party's leadership positions deliver their speeches at a convention center in Cheongju, North Chungcheong, on Sunday. [YONHAP]

Rep. Lee Jae-myung is on track to secure a second term as chairman of the liberal Democratic Party (DP) after winning multiple primaries for the party's top post over the weekend.

Lee received 88.87 percent of primary ballots cast by DP members in South Chungcheong on Sunday, as well as 88.91 percent of the vote in North Chungcheong later the same day.

The two victories came a day after he won 92.08 percent of ballots cast by party members in Busan, in addition to securing 90.56 percent and 87.22 percent of primary ballots cast in Ulsan and South Gyeongsang.

While former Interior Minister Kim Doo-gwan and Kim Ji-soo are also contesting the DP leadership post, they have trailed far behind Lee in the nine out of 15 regional party primaries that have already been held.

The former interior minister received 9.26 percent and 9.6 percent of ballots cast in South Chungcheong and North Chungcheong on Sunday, while Kim Ji-soo garnered only 1.83 percent and 1.49 percent of ballots in both provinces.

Lee, who resigned the DP chairmanship to run for reelection per party regulations, has secured over 90 percent of all ballots cast thus far in the leadership race.

The DP is scheduled to announce the victor of its leadership race at its Aug. 18 national convention.

In addition to the primaries, a survey of the general public and online polls factor into selecting the new leader and five members of the party’s Supreme Council.

Despite his overwhelming margin of victory in the primaries thus far and being a strong contender for the DP’s nomination in the 2027 presidential election, Lee has been plagued by multiple scandals tied to his past tenures as mayor of Seongnam and governor of Gyeonggi.

Prosecutors last month filed an indictment against Lee on charges of third-party bribery and violating the Foreign Exchange Transactions Act, accusing him of trying to curry favor with North Korea by enlisting underwear manufacturer Ssangbangwool to pay a total of $8 million to Pyongyang on his behalf.

According to the Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office, which is handling the case, $5 million was earmarked for Gyeonggi’s agricultural assistance project in the North, but the rest was intended to persuade the North to organize a potential visit by Lee.

Kim Seong-tae, the former chairman of Ssangbangwool Group, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison earlier this month by the Suwon District Court after being found guilty of making illegal payments to North Korea on behalf of the Gyeonggi provincial government.

Lee Hwa-young, who served as Lee Jae-myung’s deputy governor from 2018 to 2020, has also already been sentenced to nine and half years’ imprisonment after being convicted of bribery and collusion with Ssangbangwool by serving as the middleman between the company and the Gyeonggi government.

Lee Jae-myung is also under trial for allegedly skewing the profit distribution structure of the Daejang-dong development project in Seongnam during his 2010-2018 tenure as the city’s mayor.

Prosecutors have accused Lee of directing officials involved in the Daejang-dong development to grant preferential treatment to small asset management company Hwacheon Daeyu, enabling it to pocket 57.7 billion won on an investment of 49.95 million won — a mere 1 percent stake in the project.

Lee is suspected of granting favorable treatment to the company because of his relationship with the Hwacheon Daeyu’s owner, Kim Man-bae, who interviewed Lee as a journalist in 2014 — an allegation that Lee has denied.

Prosecutors have also indicted Lee on bribery charges, accusing him of giving construction permits to major companies like Naver and Doosan to build their headquarters in Seongnam in exchange for sponsoring the city’s football team.

Prosecutors on Thursday also said they would seek a three-million-won fine against Lee Jae-myung’s wife, Kim Hye-kyung, on charges of violating election law by allegedly offering meals to the wives of DP officials ahead of the 2021 party contest to nominate its presidential candidate.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]