Lee Nak-yeon Side: "The Miracle Starts Now... 27.4% Vote Share, Higher Than Roh Moo-hyun and Chung Dong-young"

Second Place Behind Governor Lee Jae-myung, Who Received 54.81% in Daejeon and Chungnam's First Round Primary
"The Great Match Begins Now, as We Create Miracles," Resolute
On the 5th, Continues Policy Steps Announcing Promises Including '4+4 Metropolitan Economic Living Zone'

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] In the first regional primary held in Daejeon and Chungnam for selecting the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, the camp of former leader Lee Nak-yeon, who was defeated by Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung with a double score of 27.41% to 54.81%, declared their determination to win by saying "The real contest starts now."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 5th, Kim Young-woong, spokesperson for Lee Nak-yeon's Pil-yeon Camp, said in a statement, "As President Kim Dae-jung said that true miracles do not happen miraculously, the brilliant battle of candidate Lee Nak-yeon toward victory will also begin now, as we create miracles."

Spokesperson Kim emphasized, "Many supporters may feel disappointed, but the vote share that former leader Lee obtained on that day was higher than the 18.6% recorded by candidate Roh Moo-hyun in the first regional primary of the 16th presidential election. Also, the number of votes Lee received was more than the 3,003 votes recorded by candidate Chung Dong-young in the first regional primary of the 17th presidential election. All of these achievements were recorded under a voter turnout lower than the 55.33% turnout of the first regional primary of the 18th presidential election."

He added, "Lee's own sentiment was also that 'there is still a long way to go. I will do my best,'" reiterating former President Kim Dae-jung's words that "miracles do not happen miraculously," expressing his determination to continue efforts until the end.

The day before, the Democratic Party announced the voting results of the first primary in Daejeon and Chungnam to select the presidential candidate. According to the results, Governor Lee took first place with more than half of the votes, followed by former leader Lee Nak-yeon, former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun (7.84%), former Minister Choo Mi-ae (6.67%), Representative Park Yong-jin (2.24%), and Representative Kim Doo-kwan (0.84%).

Although the overall electorate vote does not carry much weight, the first primary voting results attracted attention as a gauge to forecast the future Democratic Party primary landscape and predict the momentum and advantage of each candidate.

In particular, whether Governor Lee secures more than 50% of the vote could determine whether there will be a runoff between the first and second place candidates, so interest has focused not only on the ranking but also on the vote share.

With Governor Lee's majority vote leading to the first primary results, the camp of former leader Lee showed a disappointed expression but soon tightened their reins again, saying "The real contest starts now."

On that day, former leader Lee held a press conference at the office of Democratic Party Representative Lee Jang-seop in Cheongju, Chungbuk, continuing his policy activities.

At the event, former leader Lee said, "Incorporating the spirit of local autonomy from President Kim Dae-jung, balanced development from President Roh Moo-hyun, and the second phase of balanced development from President Moon Jae-in, we will open a new era of national balanced development based on innovation, self-reliance, and coexistence," and announced plans to establish the '4+4 Metropolitan Economic Living Zones' by developing Chungcheong, Gwangju-Jeonnam, Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam, and Daegu-Gyeongbuk into four mega cities.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.