DP DECIDES ON PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES

[Anchor Lead]

The ruling Democratic Party has announced the list of its presidential candidates. They are Choo Mi-ae, Lee Jae-myung, Chung Sye-kyun, Lee Nak-yon, Park Yong-jin and Kim Du-kwan. They will compete for DP ticket in the next presidential election until early September. It remains to be seen if the party will field a single candidate, or if its primary election will be hampered by the pandemic.

[Pkg]

The Democratic Party’s presidential candidates are Choo Mi-ae, Lee Jae-myung, Chung Sye-kyun, Lee Nak-yon, Park Yong-jin and Kim Du-kwan. They have all obtained support from party members and the public based on polls. Yang Seung-jo and Choi Moon-soon failed to make it to the final list. The candidates’ ranking and number of acquired votes have not been disclosed. A DP official said there were no surprises. The battle for the DP presidential ticket is now in full swing. Lee Jae-myung is determined to acquire the majority of votes by early September to become the party’s candidate in the next presidential election. The other candidates have vowed to prevent that from happening by overturning the results in runoff voting. The ruling party candidates are also launching their offensives on the opposition camp’s presidential hopeful Yoon Seok-youl.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(DP primary candidate) : "Isn’t it too much to make the husband of a married woman take responsibility for something that happened before they got married?"

[Soundbite] Lee Nak-yon(DP primary candidate) : "A president’s family is also his face. The country’s dignity and trust are on the line."

[Soundbite] Choo Mi-ae(DP primary candidate) : "We’re just asking him to disclose how he has amassed his assets."

The rapid spread of coronavirus cases could also impact the DP’s primary. All but one candidate — Lee Jae-myung — say the party needs to reschedule it.

[Soundbite] Chung Sye-kyun(DP primary candidate) : "I believe it’s up to the party leadership to decide."

[Soundbite] Park Yong-jin(DP primary candidate) : "It’s an important issue related to virus prevention. It requires consideration and criteria of a higher level than the party rules."

[Soundbite] Kim Du-kwan(DP primary candidate) : "Level 4 restrictions apply to most of the reasons for postponing primary elections stipulated in Article 88 of the party constitution."

Yoon Seok-youl has suspended his campaigning due to the new Covid outbreak, while Yoo Seung-min has decided to postpone the announcement of his presidential bid.