Race for presidency begins

[Anchor]

After ending a tumultuous chapter, the presidential election clock has begun to tick.

With the presidential seat vacant, the political landscape is rapidly shifting towards an early election phase.

Let's start with news from the Democratic Party.

As the announcement of Lee Jae-myung's candidacy approaches, the movements of the non-mainstream candidates opposing the 'Lee Jae-myung trend' have also intensified.

This is Bang Jun-won reporting.

[Report]

Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung took a day off without any official schedule.

It seems he is taking a breather ahead of the full-fledged presidential primary.

He emphasized recovery and growth right after the former president's impeachment.

[Lee Jae-myung/Democratic Party Leader/Yesterday: "From now on, the real Republic of Korea begins. Together with the people, we will restore the collapsed livelihoods, peace, economy, and democracy with the spirit of national unity."]

He is expected to step down from his party leadership and announce his candidacy soon.

His announcement is likely to come on the 8th, when Acting President Han Duck-soo is expected to declare the date of the presidential election.

Other potential candidates are also expected to announce their candidacies.

Former lawmaker Kim Du-kwan has announced a press conference on the 7th, becoming the first opposition candidate to declare.

Gyeonggi Provincial Governor Kim Dong-yeon, former Gyeongnam Governor Kim Kyung-soo, and former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, who are weighing their candidacies, are also contemplating the timing of their decisions.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party sharply criticized former President Yoon for urging the People Power Party leadership to achieve "victory in the presidential election."

[Jo Seoung-lae/Democratic Party Spokesperson: "It is astonishing that those who have seen their own president impeached for inciting insurrection are so brazen as to pledge victory in the presidential election as if nothing happened."]

They criticized that the People Power Party must first "clearly break away from the insurrection forces" to run in the presidential election.

The Democratic Party leadership has not scheduled any public events for tomorrow (Apr. 6) either.

After the resignation of Lee next week, they plan to launch the Central Party Election Management Committee and transition to a full-fledged presidential election system.

This is KBS News Bang Jun-won.