LEE JAE-MYUNG TAKES LEAD IN PRIMARIES

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Turning now to the Democratic Party’s presidential primary. In the first super week of the primary, Lee Jae-myung appears to have solidified his lead by winning more than half of 640,000 votes. He will try to woo voters for two weeks, eyeing the primary’s next regional elections in the Jeolla provinces, which are scheduled to take place immediately after the Chuseok holiday.

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Running from September 4 to Sunday, the first super week was described as the largest watershed in the Democratic Party’s primary. It showed choices by 640,000 general electoral college voters and registered party members. Lee Jae-myung clinched his dominance in the first round of primary elections, whih were held in four regions with a 77 percent voter turnout. He won over 51 percent of the votes. Lee Nak-yon came in second with nearly 31.5 percent. As a result, Lee Jae-myung apeared to have consolidated his dominant lead, recording overwhelming victories in the primary elections, which kicked off earlier this month.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(DP Pres. Hopeful) : "I am grateful that more than half of the voters again supported me, which is larger than I expected."

Lee Nak-yon last week announced a decision to give up his parliamentary seat to focus on the presidential race. Although he failed to block the Gyeonggi governor’s increasing dominance, he did manage to win more than 30 percent of votes for the first time since the primary began. Following Sunday’s election in Gangwon-do Province, the accumulated gap between the former DP chairman and the governor has decreased to five percentage points.

[Soundbite] Lee Nak-yon(DP Pres. Hopeful) : "I have found a hope. I believe it is because more members of the election college have grown concerned about the prospect of the party winning the presidential election."

Lee Jae-myung has secured an accumulated 51.41 percent and Lee Nak-yon 31.08 percent during the first round of the primary. Choo Mi-ae ranked third with double-digit support ratings, trailed by Chung Sye-kyun, Park Yong-jin and Kim Doo-kwan.

[Soundbite] Choo Mi-ae(DP Pres. Hopeful) : "I am certain many citizens share the urgent need for the reform of the prosecution."

The first week revealed choices by a third of the ruling party’s electoral college members. Now DP presidential contenders are eyeing the next round of primary elections set to be held in the Jeolla provinces after Chuseok. As a Jeolla province native, Lee Nak-yon pledged to achieve good results in the region, which is also a stronghold of the Democratic Party. The candidates will be appealing to Jeolla voters for the next two weeks.