Lee Jae-myung Leads with 78.05% Cumulative Vote Share... "Grateful for the Overwhelming Support"
Low Voter Turnout... Jeonbuk at 34.07%
Park Yong-jin: "Turnout Too Low... Disappointing and Regrettable Atmosphere of Resignation"
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 20th, Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for party leader, received over 70% support in the Jeonbuk party members' vote, confirming the 'Eodaemyeong (Anyway, the leader is Lee Jae-myung)' trend. However, the voter turnout in Honam, the Democratic Party's core support base, was low at the 30% level, leading to analysis that Lee's solo run is rather lowering the turnout.
On that day, Lee won a landslide victory with 76.81% of the votes in the Jeonbuk party members' vote, which was announced after the joint speech meeting held at Hwasan Gymnasium in Jeonbuk in the afternoon. After candidate Kang Hoon-sik withdrew from the party leader race on the 15th, Park, who faced Lee in the first one-on-one contest, received 23.19% of the votes in the Jeonbuk primary.
Since one-third of the Democratic Party's party members are based in the Honam region, there was more interest than ever in the changes in the two candidates' vote shares in this regional primary, but no surprises occurred. Lee's cumulative vote share up to that day reached 78.05%, approaching 80%. This figure reflects the invalid votes from the previously withdrawn Kang candidate, while Park recorded a cumulative vote share of 21.95%.
After the joint speech meeting and the announcement of the vote shares, Lee told reporters, "I am always grateful for the overwhelming support," and added, "I will continue to do my best with a humble attitude for the remaining schedule." Regarding the controversy over the demand to delete Article 80 of the party constitution, he said, "It concerns corruption cases such as bribery and illegal political funds, and it is not an automatic suspension of duties but that the secretary-general can suspend and refer the case to the ethics committee, so it actually has little significance," emphasizing, "I hope there will be no more controversy over this."
On the other hand, Park expressed regret over the low voter turnout in Jeonbuk.
At a meeting with reporters, Park said, "It is very regrettable that the final voter turnout in Jeonbuk remains in the low 30% range," and added, "I am also afraid that this reflects Honam's disappointment with the Democratic Party." He also said, "I had hoped that the one-on-one structure with Lee and entering Honam would bring change, but the turnout was too low, so the amplitude of change does not seem large," and expressed, "I feel a sense of resignation repeatedly, which is very regrettable and unfortunate."
On that day in Jeonbuk, out of 157,572 party members eligible to vote, 53,682 participated, recording a turnout of 34.07%.
Previously, the turnout rates in the first regional primaries in Gangwon, Gyeongbuk, and Daegu were 36.43%, 57.81%, and 59.21%, respectively, but the turnout has been gradually decreasing since then.
In Jeju and Incheon, the turnout rates were 28.62% and 41.26%, respectively, while in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam, they were 50.07%, 39.63%, and 39.99%, respectively. In the Chungcheong region's regional primary on the 14th, Daejeon recorded 33.61%, Chungnam 31.87%, Chungbuk 34.39%, and Sejong 45.05%, with all but Sejong remaining in the 30% range. As Lee's solo run continues to the extent that the phrase 'Hwadaemyeong (Definitely, the leader is Lee Jae-myung)' is being used following 'Eodaemyeong,' it is interpreted that some voters are giving up voting altogether.
The 'Eodaemyeong' trend is also being reconfirmed in the supreme council member primary, where five candidates are selected out of eight.
As of that day, the cumulative vote share among party members showed 'pro-Lee' candidate Jeong Cheong-rae leading with 27.76%.
Following him was candidate Ko Min-jung with 23.39% in second place, then Seo Young-kyo (11.46%), Jang Kyung-tae (11.21%), and Park Chan-dae (10.10%) in order. Among the top five supreme council candidates, Ko is the only 'pro-Moon' candidate.
Non-Lee faction candidates Yoon Young-chan (7.60%), Song Gap-seok (4.67%), and Ko Young-in (3.92%) recorded single-digit vote shares and are outside the winning zone.
The Democratic Party plans to hold regional primaries in Jeonnam and Gwangju on the 21st.
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