Former PM narrowly ahead as ruling party leadership race hits halfway point

Rep. Kim Min-seok is leading by a narrow margin in the ruling Democratic Party leadership race, indicating that the final outcome is likely to hinge on Seoul and the Jeolla provinces. After the first three of six regional rounds of voting among eligible party members, the former prime minister had 76,844 votes, or 45.4 percent of the total. Former party chair Rep. Jung Chung-rae was next with 75,380 votes, just 0.86 percentage point behind. Six-term lawmaker Rep. Song Young-gil was third with 1