Lee Nak-yeon Rises to 1st Place in Gwangju-Jeonnam Primary, Surpassing Lee Jae-myung with 47.12%...

Lee Jae-myung 46.95% 2nd Place... Chu Mi-ae, Kim Du-kwan, Park Yong-jin Follow

Only 122 Votes Difference Between 1st and 2nd Place... Lee Jae-myung's Strong Performance Also Noted

On the 25th, Lee Nak-yeon, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, waved to supporters at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Gwangju, where the Gwangju-Jeonnam primary was held.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] In the Democratic Party's presidential primary election in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions, former leader Lee Nak-yeon took first place in the first round of the regional primary, halting the solo run of Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung.

Former leader Lee recorded 600 votes (46.91%) from Gwangju and Jeonnam delegates, 33,211 votes (47.11%) from party members with voting rights, and 37 votes (61.67%) from telephone and on-site voting, totaling 33,848 votes, or 47.12%.

Governor Lee received 588 votes (45.97%) from Gwangju and Jeonnam delegates, 33,118 votes (46.98%) from party members with voting rights, and 20 votes (33.33%) from telephone and on-site voting, totaling 33,726 votes, or 46.95%.

Following them were Chu Mi-ae with 3,113 votes (4.33%), Kim Du-kwan with 677 votes (0.97%), and Park Yong-jin with 471 votes (0.66%).

While Governor Lee has been continuously leading with a majority, the fact that former leader Lee Nak-yeon overtook Governor Lee in the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions on the first day of the Honam area primary is being analyzed by political circles as a meaningful result.

However, since the difference between former leader Lee and Governor Lee is only 122 votes (0.17%), Governor Lee’s side views this as not a bad outcome.

A local political source said, "Although former leader Lee Nak-yeon, whose hometown is Yeonggwang, Jeonnam, achieved a meaningful result by taking first place in his political stronghold of Gwangju and Jeonnam, the gap with second-place Governor Lee is not significant," adding, "Conversely, while it may appear on the surface that Governor Lee was stopped by coming in second for the first time, in reality, Governor Lee performed well in this primary."

Meanwhile, the cumulative votes counted so far are: Lee Jae-myung with 319,582 votes (52.90%), Lee Nak-yeon with 206,638 votes (34.21%), Chu Mi-ae with 66,235 votes (10.96%), Park Yong-jin with 7,434 votes (1.23%), and Kim Du-kwan with 4,203 votes (0.70%).