Democratic Party Set to Begin Capital Region Primary... Presidential Candidate to Be Confirmed at 6 p.m.

Joint Regional Primary to Begin at 3 p.m. in Ilsan
Presidential Campaign System to Be Established Immediately After Primary Results

The Democratic Party of Korea will select its final candidate for the 21st presidential election on April 27.

On this day, starting at 3:00 p.m., the Democratic Party will hold a joint regional primary for Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, Gangwon, and Jeju at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. The final candidate will be determined by combining the votes of party members and delegates (50%) with a public opinion poll (50%).

Lee Jae-myung, former party leader and a Democratic Party presidential primary candidate, ranked first in the Honam regional primary held the previous day, with a vote share of 88.69%. According to the combined results of party member and national delegate votes, including the Chungcheong and Yeongnam regional primaries held last weekend, Lee’s cumulative vote share stands at 89.04%. Kim Dong-yeon, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, is in second place with 6.54%, and Kim Kyung-soo, former Governor of South Gyeongsang, is in third with 4.42%.

In the previous presidential primary, Lee was confirmed as the party’s candidate with a vote share of 50.29%.

Supporters of the Democratic Party of Korea are cheering for the candidates at the metropolitan area, Gangwon, and Jeju primary election site at KINTEX in Ilsanseo-gu, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do on the afternoon of the 27th. (Photo by Hwang Seoyul)

If a candidate receives a majority of votes in the final primary held today, they will be immediately confirmed as the party’s presidential candidate without a runoff. Although the public opinion poll results remain, it is practically impossible to overturn the prevailing expectation of Lee Jae-myung’s nomination, as neither Kim Kyung-soo nor Kim Dong-yeon have reached double digits in their cumulative vote shares.

The Democratic Party is expected to swiftly establish its presidential campaign system once the primary results are announced. With party unity strengthened through the primary, the party plans to expand its support base to include moderates and unaffiliated voters.

This primary’s fiercely contested race for second place is also noteworthy, as it could raise the political profile of the runner-up ahead of the next party leadership contest and next year’s local elections.