Rep. Lee Jae-myung, former presidential candidate of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), won polls in North Jeolla Province on Saturday as part of an ongoing race for the new party leadership.
Lee secured nearly 77 percent of the vote in polls, following his wins in North and South Chungcheong provinces, the central administrative hub of Sejong and neighboring Daejeon a week earlier, according to the party.
His competitor, Park Yong-jin, earned 23 percent in the North Jeolla poll. The tally was from voting by DP members who pay party dues.
The votes brought Lee’s accumulated total to 78.05 percent of all votes cast and Park’s to 21.95 percent.
Lee and Park are vying for the party leadership in the planned polls in South Jeolla Province and Gwangju, 330 km south of Seoul, on Aug. 21.
The DP is set to hold a national convention on Aug. 28, where it will combine the votes of party members and the results of opinion surveys to determine its next leader.
Source: Yonhap News Agency