CHUNG DROPS OUT FROM PRESIDENTIAL RACE

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Turning to the ruling party’s presidential primary. Having ranked fourth in the first super week of the primary last weekend, Chung Sye-kyun announced Monday his decision to drop out of the race. The former prime minister appears to have concluded that he could hardly turn the tide and catch up with the front-runners. Reaching the half-way point, the Democratic Party’s primary will proceed to the next phase with five bidders participating.

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Chung Sye-kyun was considered one of the three major candidates in the beginning. But he declared yesterday that he will withdraw his presidential bid. The surprising, unexpected decision was announced in a short statement.

[Soundbite] Chung Sye-kyun(DP Presidential Primary Candidate) : "I will serve a unified DP and a new Korea as an ordinary party member."

With regional primary elections scheduled to be held in the Jeolla provinces following Chuseok, Chung dropped out of the race just a day after he was ousted from third place in last weekend’s votes, to his disappointment. In response to a question about if he backs a specific candidate, the former prime minister made it clear that he supports the Democratic Party. Chung had won an accumulated 4.27 percent--a low rate for an individual candidate to be optimistic about one’s victory. But it is also high enough to lend considerable weight to either of the first and second-ranking candidates. The front-runner Lee Jae-myung declined to comment on the possibility, saying that now is not a time to calculate gains and losses.

[Soundbite] Lee Jae-myung(DP Presidential Primary Candidate) : "This is not a situation to make such calculations. Under any conditions, I trust in the people’s collective intelligence and wait for the results humbly."

The Gyeonggi-do governor’s campaign camp are gearing up for the elections in the Jeolla provinces, assessing that the support rating of slightly over 50 percent is not still enough to solidify his dominance. With Chuseok just around the corner, Lee Nak-yon will also visit Gwangju and Jeollabuk-do Province this week and Jeollanam-do Province next week to sway local voters. The former prime minister brought in Professor Lee Sang-e, a major critic of the Gyeonggi-do governor’s key policies like basic income. Lee also set up a strategy to stress him as a candidate pursuing stability.

[Soundbite] Lee Nak-yon(DP Presidential Primary Candidate) : "In 2002, the Honam region were great, because they chose Roh Moo-hyun who had to become president, not Lee In-je who seemed more likely to win."

Having ranked third in the first Super Week, Choo Mi-ae launched an offensive to hold Lee Jae-myung in check. All eyes are on which one will take advantage of Chung’s withdrawal and win his supporters in the Jeolla-do elections.