Democratic Primary Rivals Compete for Honam Stronghold... Lee Jae Myung Pledges "Energy Highway"

Voting for Honam Region Party Members Until the 26th
Kim Kyung Soo Holds Party Member Meeting in South Jeolla
Kim Dong Yeon Hosts Gwangju Industry and Jobs Discussion

As the Democratic Party presidential primary candidates visited Honam, the third stop of the regional primaries, on April 24 to win voter support, former party leader Lee Jae Myung announced a policy pledge regarding an "energy highway."

Lee Jae Myung (from left), Kim Dong Yeon, and Kim Kyung Soo, the Democratic Party presidential primary candidates, are taking a commemorative photo before the start of the OhmyTV invited debate held at the OhmyTV studio in Yeouido, Seoul on the 23rd. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Association, Yonhap News Agency

On the morning of the same day, Lee Jae Myung stated, "We will transmit 20GW of offshore wind power from the southwest coast to major industrial zones through a maritime power grid and expand RE100 industrial complexes nationwide." During his two-day visit to Honam, Lee made this announcement at an on-site meeting in Saemangeum, North Jeolla Province, pledging, "We will build a West Coast energy highway by 2030."

Through social media, Lee also declared, "We will open a new era for Honam?an era of sustainable megacities where the artificial intelligence (AI) energy industry and agricultural bioindustry grow together," and released his "Honam Regional Pledge Statement." He emphasized, "If we develop the Honam region, which serves as a hub connecting maritime and land transportation and is a center for renewable energy such as wind and solar power, it will mark the completion of sustainable, balanced regional development, from logistics to energy independence."

He further stated, "With a target completion date of 2040, we will begin constructing a 'U'-shaped Korean Peninsula energy highway and establish a maritime grid across the peninsula." He stressed, "Through this project, we will connect the power grids of Honam and Yeongnam, link offshore wind power from the east coast, and create a new energy paradigm for Korea."

In the afternoon, Lee plans to move to Gwangju and hold a discussion at Jeonil Building, a symbolic site of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, under the theme "Citizens Who Led Korea's Democratization." Attendees will include Kim Gilja, the mother of martyr Moon Jaehak, the main character in Nobel laureate Han Kang's novel "Human Acts," as well as Kim Songhee, chairperson of the Lee Jae Myung campaign's supporters' association and a family member of a May 18 victim.

Other Democratic Party presidential primary candidates, including former South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyung Soo and Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong Yeon, are also focusing their efforts on winning voter support ahead of the Honam primary this weekend. Kim Kyung Soo, who was the first to visit Honam (on the 22nd), plans to meet merchants at Dongbu Market in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, and then hold a meeting with party members at the Jeonnam Provincial Party office in Muan County. In the late afternoon, he will also meet with party members from Suncheon and Yeosu.

On the same day, Governor Kim Dong Yeon will hold a meeting with Democratic Party members at the North Jeolla Provincial Party office in the morning and visit Hwangryong Market in Jangseong County, South Jeolla Province. In the afternoon, he will visit the Korea Photonics Technology Institute in Gwangju for a discussion on "Gwangju Industry and Jobs" with representatives from companies in the photonics industry, followed by a meeting with Gwangju party members.

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