"'Resignation from Assembly' Lee Nak-yeon Wins by 0.17%p in Gwangju·Jeonnam... Can He Stop the 'Lee Jae-myung Trend'? (Comprehensive)"

On the 25th, Lee Nak-yeon 47.12%, Lee Jae-myung 46.95% in the Democratic Party Gwangju-Jeonnam primary
1 win in the Democratic Party stronghold... Attention on future primary outcomes
'Preventing majority vote' goal temporarily achieved
Cumulative vote share still led by Lee Jae-myung at 52.90%

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon secured his first victory in the Democratic Party’s Gwangju-Jeonnam regional primary. Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, who had previously outpaced Lee Nak-yeon by double scores in the Chungcheong region including Daejeon-Chungnam and Sejong-Chungbuk, as well as in Daegu-Gyeongbuk and Gangwon, came in second. This is the first time he has received less than a majority of the votes. With Lee Nak-yeon winning one victory in the Democratic Party’s stronghold of Gwangju-Jeonnam, attention is focused on the outcome of the remaining primaries.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 25th, in the Democratic Party’s Gwangju-Jeonnam regional presidential primary voting results, former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon received 47.12% of the votes, placing first. Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung received 46.95%, coming in second. Following were former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae with 4.33%, Representative Kim Du-kwan with 0.94%, and Representative Park Yong-jin with 0.66%.

Since this primary result is the first report card from the Honam region, the root of the Democratic Party, it holds special significance for both candidates. In particular, Lee Nak-yeon, who had taken the drastic step of resigning from his parliamentary seat, had declared that his primary goal in the Honam region primary was to prevent Lee Jae-myung from securing a majority, and it is evaluated that he has achieved some success.

However, the vote margin between the two candidates is only 0.17 percentage points, which is not large, and Lee Jae-myung still holds an overwhelming lead with over 50% in cumulative vote share, which remains a hurdle for Lee Nak-yeon in the remaining primaries. Although Lee Nak-yeon narrowly led Lee Jae-myung in the Gwangju-Jeonnam primary on this day, when all previous regional primary results are combined, Lee Jae-myung still holds a solid first place with 52.90% of the cumulative vote share, maintaining majority support.

Lee Nak-yeon’s cumulative vote share stands at 34.21%. Considering that the cumulative vote share was 31.08% in the 'first report card' combining votes from Chungcheong Province, TK (Daegu-Gyeongbuk), Gangwon delegates, party members, and the first round of elector votes, this is a slight increase. Following are former Minister Chu Mi-ae with a cumulative vote share of 10.96%, Representative Park Yong-jin with 1.23%, and Representative Kim Du-kwan with 0.70%.

For Lee Nak-yeon, the relatively low voter turnout in Gwangju-Jeonnam on this day may be somewhat disappointing. The total number of eligible voters in Gwangju-Jeonnam was 127,823, of whom 71,835 participated in voting, resulting in a turnout rate of 56.20%. This is relatively low compared to the overall cumulative turnout rate of 71.44%. Raising the turnout rate as much as possible in the Jeonbuk primary scheduled for the 26th appears to be crucial.

After the vote announcement on this day, Lee Nak-yeon told reporters, "As time goes by, people will come to know more and more about the true nature of the candidates." He added, "I believe Gwangju knows more about how I have lived and has given me more support. I thank the citizens of Gwangju and Jeonnam for giving me my first victory." He said, "Based on today’s results, I will work harder to achieve better outcomes," and "Today, you have rekindled a greater flame of hope."

He also expressed expectations for the results of the Jeonbuk primary to be held tomorrow. Lee Nak-yeon said, "I will do my best and expect good results, and I believe they will come."

Governor Lee Jae-myung also said, "Since Gwangju-Jeonnam is the political base of the respected candidate Lee Nak-yeon, I predicted it would be quite disadvantageous, but I am grateful for the unexpectedly strong support."

However, he expressed regret that the recent 'Daejang-dong development special favor allegations' may have influenced this election.

Governor Lee said, "There have been recent discussions related to the Daejang-dong development, and I think this may have affected the voting." He added, "Within the scope of my authority, I fought against the People Power Party for several years and recovered more than half of the development profits. Going forward, I will work to establish a 'national recovery system' for development profits by law, completely blocking the collusion between construction corruption, speculative construction forces, and the corrupt People Power Party forces, which are the root causes of this country’s ruin. This will be a decisive opportunity to return the real estate permit authority to the people, who are the rightful owners."