LEE KICKS OFF OFFICIAL CAMPAIGN

[Anchor Lead]

Official campaigning for the 20th presidential election began today. The ruling party candidate, Lee Jae-myung, kicked off his campaigning along the Gyeongbu Line from Busan to Seoul.

[Pkg]

Lee Jae-myung’s official campaign trail started at midnight at the Busan Port Vessel Traffic Service Center. To suit his slogan “a capable economic president strong in crisis,” he compared himself to the nation’s maritime history to stress that he is the most suitable presidential candidate. His public appearances started at Bujeon Station in Busan in the morning. He then moves on to Daegu and Daejeon along the Gyeongbu Line and ends at Gangnam Express Bus Terminal in Seoul in the evening. Lee has twenty-two days to win the undecided moderate voters over to his side. He again upheld the notion of “people’s integrated government” yesterday.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(DP Pres. Candidate) : "If we want to not only overcome the crisis but turn it into an opportunit, we must maximize and fully utilize the capacity of the nation’s human and material resources."

He said he would form a people’s cabinet that unites all political forces regardless of their ideologies or positions. He also declared that he would not use the term “Lee Jae-myung government.” One of his pledges include a prime minister being nominated by the National Assembly and to ensure to PM's real authority, such as the right to nominate ministers. He pledged to carry out political reforms, such as expanding proportional representation and banning satellite parties, even the ones made by the Democratic Party. He then went to visit the graves of former presidents Rhee Syngman and Park Chung-hee at the Seoul National Cemetery. It was clear that he had changed since the last presidential primary five years ago.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(DP Pres. Candidate) : "Both the good and the bad are part of our history. We must praise the good while criticizing the bad, but we must remember them as part of our history."

At a meeting with entrepreneurs, meanwhile, he tried to show that he is a business-friendly, economic-minded candidate.