Democratic Party's Presidential Primary Likely a Three-Way Race... Fair Election Agreement to Be Signed on the 16th, Official Start

Regional Touring Primaries Held in Four Rounds from 16th to 27th
Final Candidate to Be Confirmed on the 27th If Majority Secured
Broadcast Debates Scheduled: Terrestrial on the 18th, Cable on the 25th

The Democratic Party's primary election to select its presidential candidate has become a three-way race among former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo, and Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon. Candidates who completed registration on the 15th will conduct nationwide touring primaries for about two weeks, starting with a fair election agreement ceremony. The final candidate is expected to be confirmed on the 27th.

Yonhap News

According to the Democratic Party Central Election Commission on the 15th, the party accepted registration applications for the 21st presidential election primary candidates from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. that day. The candidates will begin the primary schedule starting with the fair election agreement ceremony on the 16th. Park Beom-gye, chairman of the Democratic Party Central Election Commission, and Park Chan-dae, acting leader of the Democratic Party, are also expected to attend the fair election agreement ceremony.

The day before, former lawmaker Kim Du-kwan declared his refusal to participate in the primary in protest of the primary rules, making the three-way race among former leader Lee, former governor Kim, and governor Kim the most likely scenario. The Democratic Party Special Party Rules Committee finalized the primary rules as "50% party members' votes and 50% general public opinion polls." Former lawmaker Kim criticized, saying, "The Democratic Party has regressed compared to 2002," and "Primary rules without consultation with the candidates will obviously result in endorsing a specific candidate."

The candidates will engage in regional touring primaries for about two weeks from the 16th to the 27th. The first primary in the Chungcheong region will be held from the 16th to the 19th, followed by the second primary in the Yeongnam region from the 17th to the 20th, the third primary in the Honam region from the 23rd to the 26th, and the fourth primary in the Seoul metropolitan area, Gangwon, and Jeju from the 24th to the 27th. Joint debates and vote counting will take place on the last day of each touring schedule: the 19th, 20th, 26th, and 27th. The national electorate voting is planned to be conducted over two days between the 16th and 27th.

The final candidate is expected to be confirmed on the 27th. However, if no candidate secures a majority, a runoff vote will be held over three days, and the candidate will be decided on the 1st of the following month.

Broadcast debates on terrestrial and comprehensive programming channels are also scheduled. According to a key official of the Democratic Party Central Election Commission, the terrestrial broadcast debate will be held at MBC on the afternoon of the 18th. The comprehensive programming channel debate is scheduled for the 25th, but the media outlet is yet to be decided.