Lee Jae-myung: "Jeong Se-gyun Made Politician Lee Jae-myung, Grateful and Regretful"

Democratic Party presidential primary candidate Lee Jae-myung Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate and Governor of Gyeonggi Province, emphasized regarding former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun's withdrawal from the race, "Please stabilize the party's center and take on a key role in the re-creation of the administration," and "Please play a leadership role on the path the democratic government must take."

On the afternoon of the 13th, during an online meeting with journalists from Gwangju and Jeonnam, Lee said, "Candidate Chung Sye-kyun was the party leader from 2008 to 2010, when I served as the party's full-time spokesperson, so I can say I am also part of former leader Chung Sye-kyun's family," expressing this.

He added, "Former leader Chung Sye-kyun nominated me, which led to my becoming mayor of Seongnam, and based on that, I came to this position," and said, "It was candidate Chung Sye-kyun who made the person and politician called Lee Jae-myung today, and personally, I am grateful and at the same time regretful."

He continued, "I still maintain ties with everyone in the (Chung Sye-kyun) camp, and I think candidate Chung is a treasured elder of the Democratic Party."

Regarding the advantages or disadvantages in the upcoming primary process following former Prime Minister Chung's withdrawal, he said, "I can't really judge, and it's not a situation to calculate that," adding, "I will do my best in my role and wait for the results."

About the Honam primary, he said, "It is candidate Lee Nak-yeon's home region, and statistically, (candidate Lee Nak-yeon) has high approval ratings," and added, "I will sincerely explain and show my efforts and humbly wait for the results."

He also explained, "There are other regions left and each candidate has strong areas, but I think it would be overambitious to try to dominate even Honam."

Regarding the results of the first Super Week, Lee said, "If the primary process is a time to gather energy, that would be good, but there are conflicts, divisions, and negative factors," and added, "I think early conclusion for the sake of the whole is desirable, whichever side it is."

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