Three contenders of the Democratic Party (DP) for the South Korean presidential election are set to hold their second public debate on Wednesday, four days before the party plans to select its candidate for the June 3 presidential election.
The debate will bring together former DP leader Lee Jae-myung, Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon, and Kim Kyung-soo, a former governor of South Gyeongsang Province.
During the 90-minute debate, the candidates will present their visions in key areas, including politics, the economy, diplomacy, security and social policy.
Lee, who declared his presidential bid earlier this month and is leading the opinion polls for the upcoming election, recently won two regional primaries by a large margin, Yonhap News Agency reported.
The DP will hold two additional regional primaries before selecting a presidential candidate on Sunday.
The upcoming election is triggered by the ouster of former President Yoon Suk Yeol over his brief declaration of martial law in December. Lee lost the 2022 presidential election to Yoon by a narrow margin.
Meanwhile, earlier on April 22, the People Power Party (PPP) shortlisted four contenders in the first round of its presidential primary race.
The four candidates are former Labour Minister Kim Moon-soo, former PPP leader Han Dong-hoon, former Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, and lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo, according to the party’s election commission.
The results were determined based on surveys conducted by five polling agencies from Monday to Tuesday, covering a combined total of 4,000 respondents.
The PPP originally had eight presidential primary candidates, which also included PPP lawmaker Na Kyung-won, Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, North Gyeongsang Governor Lee Cheol-woo and former DP Rep. Yang Hyang-ja.
In the second round, two candidates will be selected through a process that combines party member votes and public opinion polling in equal measure. The party will confirm its candidate on May 3.
The presidential election will be held on June 3, following Yoon’s ouster on April 4 over his proposal for a state of emergency, also known as martial law.
According to a Realmetre poll released early this week, Rep. Lee Jae-myung, former DP leader, kept a strong lead with 50.2 per cent support.
Trailing Lee was Kim with 12.2 per cent. Han received 8.5 per cent and Hong garnered 7.5 per cent.
While the conservative contenders have intensified political attacks against the former DP leader Lee, the PPP seemed to be perplexed by Lee’s strong lead in opinion polls.
Last week, a plan to create a new political party in support of Yoon was put on hold.
Rep. Lee Yang-soo of the PPP told SBS radio that such a plan would harm the party in the lead-up to the presidential election.
Meanwhile, candidates will be required to register by May 11, and the official campaign period will kick off on May 12.
The law also requires a public servant running for President to resign at least 30 days before an election, making May 4 the deadline.
The new President will assume office immediately after the election without a transition team.
–IANS
