LEE NAK-YON CONCEDES HIS DEFEAT

[Anchor Lead]

Lee Nak-yon has conceded his defeat in the Democratic Party's primary elections, as the party affairs committee, its top decision-making body, rejected his objection regarding invalid votes. The rife in the party seems to be over for now.

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Lee Nak-yon accepted the results of the Democratic Party primary elections. The decision comes three days after raising an objection over invalid votes. He congratulated Lee Jae-myung, and asked him to strive to promote unity within the party and win the next presidential election. Lee Nak-yon also pledged to help the Democratic Party win the presidential election. Lee appealed to his supporters by saying, "Victory cannot be achieved if we turn away from our colleagues" and "Greater public support comes when we pull together" Lee Nak-yon announced his decision after the DP party affairs committee eventually sided with Lee Jae-myung on Wednesday's meeting. The committee held a heated debate over ways to handle invalid votes, but opted to go with a more political method.

[Soundbite] Koh Yong-jin(Democratic Party) : "Overcoming our differences and reaching this decision is necessary so that we can pull together and win the next presidential election."

The committee did decide to rectify the party rules on invalid votes to eliminate room for controversy. Lee Nak-yon's camp is disbanded. The former party chief made his first public appearance since the primary elections to encourage his camp officials. However, Lee Nak-yon and Lee Jae-myung still need to overcome resentment, and it will likely take some time before they join hands as a team.