By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
Presidential contender Chung Dong-young of the pro-government United New Democratic Party (UNDP) is leading the party's three-way nomination race after topping two consecutive primary votes.
Former Unification Minister and TV anchorman Chung topped the two rounds of voting in four regions on Sunday and Saturday with a total of 13,910 votes.
Former Gyeonggi Province Governor Sohn Hak-kyu, who defected from the conservative Grand National Party (GNP), trails Chung with a total of 9,368 votes.
Former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan has narrowed the gap with Sohn garnering a total of 8,925 votes after ex-Health and Welfare Minister Ryu Si-min said he would no longer vie for the nomination to support Lee.
However, the turnout was less than 20 percent at 19.8 percent on average.
Former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook quit the race on Friday, throwing her support behind Lee as a representative for loyalists to President Roh Moo-hyun.
Statistically speaking, Lee should win the race if the supporters of the three Roh loyalists vote for him. But few predict that all of their votes will go to the ``provocative'' former prime minister, leaving the party's ticket to be decided by the alliance of Roh acolytes.
``I think the support from Ulsan citizens is a reward and encouragement for my five years devoted to politics,'' Chung said after winning the primary.
He topped the competition in Gangwon and North Chungcheong provinces Sunday with 8,645 votes, as well as one on Jeju Island and in the southeastern city of Ulsan Saturday with 5,265 votes.
Chung has stressed that he will continue the policies and visions of the incumbent government, including the ``sunshine policy'' of engaging North Korea, while at the same time keeping his distance from Roh.
The former unification minister, who helped Roh's successful run in the 2002 presidential election, is seemingly trying to differentiate himself from other contenders by criticizing the President's inappropriate remarks and wrongdoings.
Although Chung outpolled Lee with only a slight gap in the voting, his solid support base in the party may lead him to victory in the UNDP primary, political analysts predicted.
Chung co-founded the now-defunct governing Uri Party, the de facto predecessor to the UNDP in November 2003 and served as its chairman in 2004 and 2006.
Sohn has led the contenders in various opinion polls but his loss in the first ballot may have put him in jeopardy.
The former governor has difficulty gaining votes from party members due to his previous 15-year affiliation with the GNP, political watchers say.
He bolted from the conservative party on March 15 judging that he could not beat former Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak for the party's presidential candidacy. So far, no candidate who bolted from his or her political party has won the presidential election.
Sohn edged Chung with a 0.29 percentage points in a preliminary race on Sept. 5 to single out the five finalists.
On the other hand, Lee Hae-chan is expected to win some of the remaining votes nationwide after the departure of the other two pro-Roh competitors.
Lee and Rhyu, both known as confidants to Roh, gained a combined 6,304 votes in the first ballot on Saturday, larger than those cast for Chung and Sohn.
However, Lee cannot be certain of getting all the votes from those who support Han and Rhyu because a putative alliance could facilitate factional wrangling, analysts say.
The largest party saw a low turnout of 18.9 percent on Jeju and 18.2 percent in Ulsan.
The UNDP will announce its standard-bearer on Oct. 15 after having ballots in 12 more provinces and metropolitan cities. Currently GNP candidate Lee commands support of more than 50 percent in opinion polls. Some say that no one could beat the former Seoul Mayor Lee if the presidential vote was held today. But about 25 percent of his supporters responded in surveys they back Lee because there is no alternative candidate yet.
UNDP strategists predict the presidential race will be a tight race, with the winner emerging by a margin of less than 5 percentage points.