Regional Primary Tour on the 24th... Lee Jaemyung Aims to Maintain 80% Support
All Eyes on Vote Share and Turnout... Kim Kyungsoo and Kim Dongyeon in Pursuit
370,000 Voting Party Members in Honam to Decide Fate of "Eodaemyung"
Lee Jae Myung, the Democratic Party presidential primary candidate, is delivering his policy speech at the 'Joint Speech Meeting for the Selection of the 21st Presidential Election Candidates in the Yeongnam Region' held on the 20th at the Ulsan Exhibition and Convention Center in Ulju County, Ulsan. Photo by Yonhap News
The Democratic Party presidential primary candidates are rallying their supporters ahead of this weekend's regional primary in the Honam region. This move comes from the belief that the results in Honam, a traditional stronghold of the Democratic Party, could determine the overall direction of the primary race.
According to political circles and other sources on April 23, the Democratic Party will begin voting by party members with voting rights, touring Gwangju, Jeonnam, and Jeonbuk starting today. The voting will conclude with a joint speech event to be held at the Kim Daejung Convention Center in Gwangju on April 26. Afterward, the party plans to hold regional primaries in the Seoul metropolitan area, Gangwon, and Jeju, and then finalize the presidential candidate by combining the votes of party members with opinion poll results.
So far, the primary race has been clearly dominated by the so-called "Eodaemyung" (meaning "the presidential candidate will inevitably be Lee Jae Myung") structure. Candidate Lee Jae Myung achieved an overwhelming first place with a vote share of 89.56% in the earlier Chungcheong and Yeongnam primaries. However, Honam is the only region where Lee previously struggled, drawing attention to how he will perform this time. The number of party members with voting rights in Honam is about 370,000, accounting for more than 30% of the total.
Starting on April 24, Lee plans to visit Jeonbuk, Gwangju, and Jeonnam to focus on policy activities. He intends to strengthen local support by focusing on topics such as renewable energy, democratization, and agriculture.
Kim Kyungsoo, a presidential primary candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, is delivering a policy speech at the "Joint Yeongnam Region Speech Meeting for the Selection of the 21st Presidential Election Candidates" held on the 20th at the Ulsan Exhibition Convention Center in Ulju-gun, Ulsan City. Photo by Yonhap News
Dongyeon Kim, a presidential primary candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, is delivering his policy speech at the 'Yeongnam Region Joint Speech Meeting for the Selection of the 21st Presidential Election Candidates' held on the 20th at the Ulsan Exhibition Convention Center in Ulju-gun, Ulsan. Photo by Yonhap News
Kim Kyungsoo and Kim Dongyeon are also pursuing a catch-up strategy by highlighting pledges tailored to the Honam region. Kim Kyungsoo has emphasized "local autonomy" and the "megacity" initiative, proposing a system of regional autonomous governments. Kim Dongyeon has promised to foster the climate industry, enshrine the spirit of the 5·18 Democratization Movement in the Constitution, and expand the metropolitan transportation network.
Within and outside the party, most predict that Lee will achieve a vote share similar to last year's party leadership primary. However, there are also views that if his vote share falls below 80%, it could become a significant burden for his presidential campaign. A low voter turnout could also be interpreted as an indicator of anti-Lee sentiment within the party.
The Democratic Party will complete the presidential candidate selection process with the metropolitan area primary scheduled for April 27.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
