LEE JAE-MYUNG LEADS PRIMARY ELECTIONS

[Anchor Lead]

Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung has won primary elections in Sejong, Chungcheongbuk-do Province. He won a majority of votes in Daejeon and Chungcheongnam-do Province as well, beating his rival, Lee Nak-yon, by a large margin.

[Pkg]

Lee Jae-myung won the Democratic Party primaries in the Chungcheong region by a landslide. The region is largely regarded as the barometer of presidential elections. Lee acquired 54.54 percent of votes in Sejong and Chungcheongbuk-do Province, and won a majority of votes in Daejeon and Chungcheongnam-do. Lee Nak-yon was runner-up with 29.72 percent of votes, slightly more than half of what Lee Jae-myung earned. The gap was small in delegate votes, but quite large in votes cast by entitled party members.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(Democratic Party Presidential Candidate) : "Rather than worrying about my approval ratings and votes, I want to do my best to live up to the expectations of the public and party members."

Despite efforts to emphasize his stability as a presidential hopeful, the former PM failed to lay a firm foundation for bridging the gap with Lee Jae-myung.

[Soundbite] Lee Nak-yon(Democratic Party Presidential Candidate) : "A candidate’s defeat does not end with defeat only. If we do not verify our candidates properly, we can face devastating results in the presidential election."

Choo Mi-ae finished third with 7.09 percent of votes. Chung Sye-kyun was fourth with 5.49 percent. They were trailed by Park Yong-jin and Kim Doo-kwan. The DP will hold primary elections in Daegu, Gyeongsangbuk-do and Gangwon-do this weekend. It will also announce the results of the first round of vote held by 640,000 electoral college members from the general public.