Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
Ruling party narrows lineup of presidential contenders down to 6
The six contenders who will run for the second round of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea's (DPK) presidential primary pose after making it through the first round at the party's headquarters on Yeouido, Seoul, Sunday. From left are Rep. Kim Du-kwan, Rep. Park Yong-jin, former DPK Chairman Lee Nak-yon, former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung and former Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae. Yonhap
By Kwon Mee-yoo
By Kwon Mee-yoo
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) narrowed down the list of its presidential contenders to six in the first round of the party's primary, Sunday.
The six presidential hopefuls of the ruling party are former Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, former DPK Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon, Rep. Park Yong-jin and Rep. Kim Du-kwan, after two candidates ― Gangwon Province Governor Choi Moon-soon and South Chungcheong Province Governor Yang Seung-jo ― did not make the cut.
There were originally nine contenders, but Rep. Lee Kwang-jae agreed to throw his support behind Chung on July 5.
The first-round primary cutoff is a result of two opinion polls conducted from July 9 to 11 on party members and the general public.
The party's election committee did not reveal each contender's ranking or share of the vote.
Another poll to select the final candidate in the second round of the ruling party's presidential primary will be held from Aug. 7 to Sept. 5. If no contender earns more than half of the votes, the DPK will hold a final vote on Sept. 10.
Currently, Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee is leading the polls among DPK presidential hopefuls.
"The DPK will succeed in launching the fourth administration run by a DPK member by presenting the most qualified candidate who meets the expectations of the people as well as party members," DPK Chairman Song Young-gil said after announcing the results of the first round.
Meanwhile, the National Election Commission (NEC) announced that it will start receiving registrations today for preliminary candidates for the March 2022 presidential election. Presidential hopefuls who haven't been selected as official party candidates can apply until Feb. 12 next year. After registration, they can start campaigning, such as setting up a campaign office and hiring up to 10 people for electioneering.