# 2020 Democratic Party (South Korea, 2015) leadership election

The Democratic Party held a leadership election on 29 August 2020. It was the second leadership election since the inauguration of President Moon Jae-in. Although an elected leader serves for the fixed two-year term, the newly elected leader Lee Nak-yon is unlikely to serve for two years due to his presumptive presidential campaign in 2022.

## Background
### Landslide victory of 2020 General Election

In 2020 South Korean General Election, The Democrats, led by Lee Hae-chan, won the majority in the National Assembly by landslide. The Democratic Party and its affiliate Party, Platform Party, won 180 seats (60%) in the 300-seat Assembly. It was the biggest majority since the democratization of South Korea after the June Struggle in 1987. It was an endorsement of President Moon Jae-in's COVID-19 response that got a good reputation worldwide.

### Coronavirus

Due to the continued impact of COVID-19 pandemic, the Democratic Party National Convention Preparatory Committee decided to hold a national convention online to elect its leadership. The Democratic Party originally planned an event in Jamsil Olympic Stadium in which about 600 members of the Central Committee attended, but it changed to an online event due to concerns about second wave of COVID-19. Eventually, the party decided to allow only about 50 candidates and staff at the Democratic Party's headquarter and broadcast the results of the election as well as the acceptance speech on the Internet on 29 August 2020.

## Candidates
### Candidates for leader
#### Nominated

| # | Candidate | Born | Political Office | Campaign | Announced |
| 1 | Lee Nak-yon | December 20, 1951 (age 72) Yeonggwang, South Jeolla | 41st Prime Minister of South Korea (2017–2020) 37th Governor of South Jeolla (2014–2017) Member of the National Assembly (2000–2014, 2020–present) | 지금!이낙연 (Now!Lee Nak-yon) | 7 July 2020 |
| 2 | Kim Boo-kyum | January 21, 1958 (age 66) Sangju, North Gyeongsang | Minister of the Interior and Safety (2017–2019) Member of the National Assembly (2016–2020) | 책임지는 당대표 (Responsible Leader) | 9 July 2020 |
| 3 | Park Joo-min | November 21, 1973 (age 51) Seongbuk, Seoul | Member of the Democratic Party Supreme Council (2018–2020) Member of the National Assembly (2016–present) | 국민과 함께 두려움 없이 (With the people, fearlessly) | 21 July 2020 |

### Candidates for Supreme Council
#### Nominated

| # | Candidate | Born | Political Office | Campaign Slogan | Announced |
| 1 | Shin Dong-kun | 22 December 1961 Seo, Incheon | Member of the National Assembly (2016–present) Whip of the Democratic Party (2018–2019) Vice Chairman of the Policy Planning Committee (2016–2017) | 민주당 왼쪽 미드필더 (Left Midfielder of Democrats) | 22 July 2020 |
| 2 | Yeom Tae-yeong | 25 July 1960 Hwaseong, Gyeonggi | Mayor of Suwon (2010–present) Chairman of the National Association of Mayors (2019–2020) | 기초가 든든한 100년 민주당 (Well-founded century Democrats) | 20 July 2020 |
| 3 | Yang Hyang-ja | 4 April 1967 Hwasun, South Jeolla | Member of the National Assembly (2020–present) Director of the National Human Resources Development Institute (2018–2019) Chairwoman of the Democratic National Woman's Committee (2016–2018) | 한 표는 경제에 (One vote for the economy) | 21 July 2020 |
| 4 | Han Byung-do | 7 December 1967 Iksan, North Jeolla | Member of the National Assembly (2004–2008, 2020–present) Senior Political Officer of the Office of the President (2017–2019) | 대통령을 지킬 한 표 (One vote to protect the president) | 21 July 2020 |
| 5 | So Byeong-hoon | 3 June 1954 Gunsan, North Jeolla | Member of the National Assembly (2016–present) Vice Chairman of the Policy Planning Committee (2015) | 소확행 (Small but sure Happiness, SSH) | 21 July 2020 |
| 6 | Noh Woong-rae | 3 August 1957 Mapo, Seoul | Member of the National Assembly (2004–2008, 2012–present) Secretary-Geneal of the Democratic Party (2014) | 무한책임 일편黨心 (Infinite commitment, a sincere heart for the party) | 20 July 2020 |
| 7 | Lee Won-wook | 20 March 1962 Boryeong, South Chungchoeng | Member of the National Assembly (2012–present) Whip of the Democratic Party (2019–2020) | 민주당 답게! 흔들림 없이! (Like a Democrat! Without wavering!) | 19 July 2020 |
| 8 | Kim Jong-min | 12 May 1964 Nonsan, South Chungcheong | Member of the National Assembly (2016–present) Vice Governor of South Chungcheong (2010–2011) Whip of the Democratic Party (2018–2019) Vice Chairman of the Policy Planning Committee (2016–2017) Spokesman of the Cheong Wa Dae (2004–2005) | 정권재창출 반드시 해내겠습니다 (Make sure to win again) | 21 July 2020 |

#### Eliminated

| Candidate | Born | Political Office | Campaign Slogan | Announced |
| Lee Jae-jung | 2 August 1974 Daegu | Member of the National Assembly (2016–present) Spokeswoman of the Democratic Party (2018-2020) Vice Chairman of the Policy Planning Committee (2017–2018) | 당신을 빛나게 하는 힘! (The power that makes you shine!) | 17 July 2020 |
| Cheong Kwang-il | | | | |
In the election of the Supreme Council, 10 people were running, so the party had to eliminate 2 candidates and held the final election with the remaining 8 candidates according to the rules. On 24 July 2020, the Democratic Party held a caucus for the election of the party's Supreme Council by on-site and online voting. About 660 members of the Central Committee participated in the vote. As a result of the vote, Lee Won-wook, Noh Woong-rae, Kim Jong-min, So Byeong-hoon, Shin Dong-kun, Han Byung-do, Yang Hyang-ja, and Yeom Tae-yeong were nominated. However, the ranking and number of votes for each candidate were not released. Of the eight nominated candidates, five are finally elected through elections held at the National Assembly on August 29. In addition, under the party's rule, at least one elected member of the Supreme Council shall be a woman. Yang Hyang-ja was the only remaining female candidate, so she was virtually elected as the Supreme Council member.

### Those who announced that they will not run for this election

* Hong Young-pyo, former floor leader of the party and member of National Assembly
* Song Young-gil, former mayor of Incheon and member of National Assembly
* Woo Won-shik, former floor leader of the party and member of National Assembly

## Debates
### Televised debates

| No. | Date and time | Location | Programme | Broadcaster | Candidates | Candidates | Candidates | Link |
| P Participant   A Absent invitee  O Out of race (eliminated or withdrawn)  N No debate | P Participant   A Absent invitee  O Out of race (eliminated or withdrawn)  N No debate | P Participant   A Absent invitee  O Out of race (eliminated or withdrawn)  N No debate | P Participant   A Absent invitee  O Out of race (eliminated or withdrawn)  N No debate | P Participant   A Absent invitee  O Out of race (eliminated or withdrawn)  N No debate | Lee Nak-yon | Kim Boo-kyum | Park Joo-min | Link |
| 1 | July 29, 2020; 18:00 | Daegu | 민주당 당대표 후보 TV 토론회 (Democratic Leadership Debate) | Daegu MBC | P | P | P | YouTube |
| 2 | July 31, 2020; 18:20 | Busan | 더불어민주당 당대표 후보자 초청 토론회 (Democratic Leadership Debate) | Busan MBC | P | P | P | YouTube |
| 3 | August 6, 2020; 22:00 | Jeonju | 더불어민주당 당대표 후보 토론회 (Democratic Leadership Debate) | Jeonju MBC | P | P | P | YouTube |
| 4 | August 7, 2020 | Gwangju | 더불어민주당 당대표 후보자 초청 토론회 (Democratic Leadership Debate) | KBC Gwangju | P | P | P | YouTube |
| 5 | August 19, 2020; 17:20 | Daejon | 더불어민주당 당대표 후보자 초청 토론회 (Democratic Leadership Debate) | Daejon MBC | P | P | P | |
| 6 | August 20, 2020 | Seoul | 100분토론 - 더불어민주당 당대표 후보자 토론회 (100 Minute Debate - Democratic Leadership Debate) | MBC | P | P | P | YouTube |
| 7 | August 27, 2020 | Seoul | 더불어민주당 당대표 후보자 초청 방송토론회 (Democratic Leadership Debate) | KBS1 | P | P | P | YouTube |

## Results

The ratio of the results by sector was 45% for delegates, 40% for party members, 10% for opinion poll and 5% for non-voting members poll.
Full result - Leader :
| Candidates | Delegates (45%) | Party members (40%) | Opinion poll (10%) | Non-voting members poll (5%) | Total (100%) |
| Lee Nak-yon | 57.20% | 63.73% | 64.02% | 62.80% | 60.77% |
| Kim Boo-kyum | 29.29% | 14.76% | 13.85% | 18.05% | 21.37% |
| Park Joo-min | 13.52% | 21.51% | 22.14% | 19.15% | 17.85% |
Full result - Supreme Council :
| Candidate | Delegates (45%) | Party members (40%) | Opinion poll (10%) | Non-voting members poll (5%) | Total (100%) | Note |
| Kim Jong-min | 13.54% | 25.47% | 23.9% | 24.08% | 19.88% | Senior member |
| Yeom Tae-yeong | 16.88% | 9.9% | 12.29% | 8.95% | 13.23% | |
| Noh Woong-rae | 12.29% | 12.75% | 16.48% | 17.88% | 13.17% | |
| Shin Dong-kun | 9.62% | 13.79% | 16.68% | 12.98% | 12.16% | |
| Yang Hyang-ja | 7.14% | 15.56% | 13.32% | 15.18% | 11.53% | |
| Lee Won-wook | 17.39% | 6.93% | 5.69% | 5.28% | 11.43% | |
| Han Byung-do | 13.81% | 9.77% | 5.69% | 8.93% | 11.14% | |
| So Byeong-hoon | 9.33% | 5.84% | 5.89% | 6.75% | 7.47% | |