Kim Min-seok ranked first in Honam and the metropolitan area... 8.4%p ahead of Chung Chee-ra in cumulative votes.

Kim Min-seok, the candidate for the Democratic Party, secured the top spot in the nationwide delegate rotation contest of the 8th of May Assembly, with a total vote share of 49.91%. His nearest competitor, Lee Chang-rae, trailed behind with 41.51% of the vote, a 8.40% gap separating them. Kim's victory was particularly impressive, as he captured the maximum swing districts of North Chungcheong, Gyeonggi, and Seoul.

Kim achieved 46.66% (148,245 votes) in the Gyeonggi and Seoul delegate contests, just 0.38% (1,207 votes) ahead of Lee. His running mate, Song Young-gil, secured 7.05% (22,410 votes).

In the preceding North Chungcheong delegate contest on May 15th, Kim further widened the gap by winning 57.54% (139,307 votes) compared to Lee's 32.65% (70,933 votes), a 24.89% (6,274 votes) lead. Song Young-gil finished in third place with 9.81% (23,749 votes). The delegate rotation accounted for 38% of the total vote, with the North Chungcheong delegate rotation representing 33%.

This resulted in Kim accumulating 49.91% (38,337 votes) of the total, extending the lead over Lee's 41.51% (31,880 votes). Song Young-gil received 8.58% (65,874 votes), but this figure excluded the strategic impact of 5% weightage from key battlegrounds like Gyeonggi, Gangwon, and Daegu. Despite the intense competition across all the regional contests, Kim managed to bridge the 8.40% (6,4567 votes) gap between himself and the runner-up by the time the 3rd week's North Chungcheong and Gyeonggi-South Korea contests were concluded.

Kim's team released a statement, expressing their readiness to "unite the Democratic Party and form a competent ruling coalition" if selected. Lee, on the other hand, pledged on Facebook, "I'll give my best until the very end." The final decision will be made during the Assembly's national delegate voting on the 17th.