90% Vote Share in the 3rd and 4th Primary Elections
In the Democratic Party leadership race, candidate Lee Jae-myung has solidified his dominant position with an overwhelming lead.
On the 21st, Lee recorded a voting rate in the 90% range among party members in the 3rd and 4th primary elections held in the Gangwon and Daegu·Gyeongbuk regions.
Lee achieved a cumulative voting rate of 91.7% across the first to fourth rounds of primaries held over two days starting the previous day.
He received 82.5% of the votes in Jeju, the site of the first primary, 93.77% in Incheon, his own constituency and the second primary location. On this day, he garnered 90.02% in Gangwon and 94.73% and 93.97% in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, respectively.
This figure far exceeds the 77.77% voting rate he achieved in the party leadership election two years ago. At that time, his only opponent was former lawmaker Park Yong-jin from the anti-Lee faction, who received 17.75% of the votes.
On the other hand, candidate Kim Du-kwan, who is running against Lee, has only secured a cumulative voting rate of 7.19%, and candidate Kim Ji-soo has garnered 1.11%. Notably, even Kim Du-kwan, who has drawn attention by strongly criticizing the 'Lee Jae-myung one-man system,' has not been able to shake this trend.
However, since the race is still in its early stages, attention is focused on whether this trend will continue in the remaining 11 regional primaries. Especially considering that the number of party members in Seoul (215,000), Gyeonggi (277,000), and Honam (413,000)?where primaries will be held next month?accounts for about 73% of the total 1,242,000 members, the possibility of a turnaround cannot be ignored.
In his primary speech that day, Lee emphasized a 'Meoksanism' approach, focusing on presenting a vision for people's livelihoods, while the other two candidates appealed for votes by taking a stance against him.
Lee said, "The Democratic Party must mobilize the nation's full capabilities to solve the people's problems related to their livelihoods," adding, "We should not fight over who did what, but rather think about creating a better life for the people."
He continued, "Only then can we fix the country's bleak reality. Who is the right leader to take the party in that direction?" emphasizing that he is the suitable candidate.
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