The Democratic Party of Korea, which has entered the June 3 presidential primary, will announce the voting results of party members with voting rights and national delegates from the Yeongnam region on April 20.
Candidates for the Democratic Party presidential primary attended the "Chungcheong Region Joint Debate for the Selection of the 21st Presidential Election Candidates" held on the afternoon of the 19th at Cheongju Gymnasium in Chungbuk. From left to right: Lee Jae Myung, Kim Kyung Soo, Kim Dong Yeon. Photo by Yonhap News
The Yeongnam regional primary began voting on April 17 and will continue until the policy presentations by preliminary candidates Lee Jae Myung, Kim Dong Yeon, and Kim Kyung Soo are completed on this day. The results will be revealed on-site.
Lee Jae Myung, former Democratic Party leader and native of Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, plans to highlight his regional pledges during his policy presentation on this day, including relocating the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Busan and establishing a secondary battery industry belt and a future-oriented automobile parts cluster in Daegu and North Gyeongsang.
Kim Dong Yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, has previously announced plans to relocate policy financial institutions such as the Korea Development Bank and the Export-Import Bank of Korea to Busan.
Kim Kyung Soo, former Governor of South Gyeongsang Province and native of Goseong, South Gyeongsang, is expected to emphasize his pledge for balanced regional development by creating five mega-cities in different regions.
In the Chungcheong regional primary held the previous day, former leader Lee overwhelmingly defeated his rivals by securing 57,057 votes (88.15%) out of 64,730 valid votes, compared to 4,883 votes (7.54%) for preliminary candidate Kim Dong Yeon and 2,790 votes (4.31%) for preliminary candidate Kim Kyung Soo.
With Lee, who has consistently led in various opinion polls, achieving a landslide victory in the Chungcheong regional primary without any surprises, attention is now focused on whether he will solidify his frontrunner status in Yeongnam, the second regional primary, or if the other two candidates will be able to stage a comeback.
Meanwhile, the results of the Honam region vote will be announced on April 26, and the results for the Seoul metropolitan area, Gangwon, and Jeju will be released on April 27. The Democratic Party plans to determine its presidential candidate by combining the results of the regional party member votes and the general public opinion polls conducted from April 21 to 27, each accounting for half of the final outcome.
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