GWANGJU -- Rep. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea's former chair, on Saturday finished first in the second-to-last round of the party primary race for presidential nomination on the liberal home turf of Gwangju in South Jeolla Province.
The fourth and the final round of the primary vote takes place Sunday, when the Democratic Party is set to finalize its nominee.
Speaking to the crowd at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center, named after the late liberal President Kim Dae-jung, Lee said Gwangju's support would "make a Democratic Party president possible."
Lee said the last three presidents of the Democratic Party -- Moon Jae-in, Roh Moo-hyun and Kim Dae-jung -- all had the "overwhelming support" of Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces. "Choose Lee Jae-myung and let's create a fourth Democratic Party administration," he said.
At Saturday's primary round, Lee continued a commanding lead in the race, winning 88.7 percent of the 200,809 votes cast.
Lee's two primary challengers, Gyeonggi Province Gov. Kim Dong-yeon and former Gyeongsang Province Gov. Kim Kyung-soo, followed with 7.41 percent and 3.89 percent, respectively.
The Gyeonggi Province governor said if he wins, he would rebuild the country in the spirit of former President Kim Dae-jung, for whom he had worked as an aide at Cheong Wa Dae, as the presidential office was called then.
The former South Gyeongsang Province governor said he would become a president who lives up to the legacy of Gwangju, a city that was central in the country's pro-democracy protests in the 1980s.
In a press briefing that followed, both of the primary candidates trailing Lee said they regretted the primary rules that limited participation of nonpartisan and independent voters.
Kim Dong-yeon said if the Democratic Party had a completely open primary, the party would have had a nominee who is backed by voters of wide range of political affiliations. Kim Kyung-soo similarly said that the primary rules were skewed against candidates who are behind.
Lee's third consecutive win in the Democratic Party primaries on Saturday shows his legal battles do not seem to be putting a dent in his support among the party's supporters.
Lee, who is a defendant in five ongoing criminal trials, has to appear in court almost every week in the run up to the presidential vote on June 3.
In response to a question from a reporter Saturday asking whether he would still need to attend court if he is elected president, Lee avoided a direct response, saying, "You can't live worrying about getting into a car accident tomorrow."
arin@heraldcorp.com
