Democratic Party Presidential Candidate Selection Date Postponed from September 5 to October 10

Democratic Party Presidential Candidate Selection
Schedule Delayed Due to COVID-19 Impact
Postponed from September 5 to October 10

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] The Democratic Party of Korea has postponed the presidential primary schedule by five weeks. Due to the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the originally scheduled date for selecting the presidential candidate on September 5 has been pushed back to October 10.

On the 19th, the Democratic Party held an executive meeting to discuss postponing the primary and reached this conclusion. Lee Sang-min, chairman of the Democratic Party Central Election Commission, told reporters, “The originally planned regional tour schedule starting from August 7 will be postponed by four weeks for the first half, and since the Chuseok holiday falls in the middle, the latter half will be postponed by a total of five weeks.” Yoon Kwan-seok, secretary general of the Democratic Party, also explained, “Although the start is delayed by four weeks, because the Chuseok holiday is in the middle, the primary schedule has effectively been extended by five weeks, which was approved again by the executive committee.”

Lee added, “If it goes to a runoff vote, the date will be decided and announced about 4 to 5 days after the last primary date according to the election commission’s schedule.”

Accordingly, the primary originally scheduled to start in Daejeon and Chungnam on September 7 will be postponed to September 4. The subsequent schedule will be as follows: Sejong and Chungbuk (September 5), Daegu and Gyeongbuk (September 11), Gangwon / 1st Super Week (September 12), Gwangju and Jeonnam (September 25), Jeonbuk (September 26), Jeju (October 1), Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (October 2), Incheon / 2nd Super Week (October 3), Gyeonggi (October 9), and Seoul / final selection (October 10).

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