Former DP leader Lee wins central region’s primary for presidential election

SEOUL, April 19 (Yonhap) — Former Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Jae-myung on Saturday won an overwhelming victory in a primary in the central Chungcheong region ahead of the June 3 presidential election.

Lee, who declared his presidential bid last week and is leading opinion polls for the presidential election, won 88.15 percent of the total vote in a presidential primary in South and North Chungcheong provinces, and Daejeon and Sejong cities, according to party officials.

Lee defeated the DP’s two other contenders by a large margin — Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Dong-yeon with 7.54 percent and Kim Kyung-soo, a former South Gyeongsang Province governor, with 4.31 percent.

Lee’s landslide victory in the first round of the party primary likely sets the stage for him to be selected as the liberal party’s presidential candidate. The DP will hold three more similar regional primaries and pick its presidential candidate on April 27.

“I will well uphold (people)’s aspiration to build a new nation,” Lee told reporters after the primary’s result came out.

Announcing his presidential bid last week, Lee vowed efforts to become “the best tool” to build a “true” Korea and prioritize efforts to boost economic growth.

The upcoming election is triggered by former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s ouster over his short-lived martial law declaration in December. Lee lost the presidential race to Yoon by a thin margin in 2022.