Ex-DP leader Lee secures 2 more wins in leadership primaries

Rep. Lee Jae-myung, a former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), added two more wins in primaries to elect a new party leader Sunday, garnering around 90 percent of the vote in the central cities of Daejeon and Sejong. The latest results further cemented Lee's chances of taking the helm of the DP for another term with just a single primary remaining. With Sunday's wins, Lee secured nearly 90 percent of the accumulated votes in the 16 primaries held so far. In Daejeon, Lee won 90.81 percent of the vote, followed by former two-term lawmaker Kim Doo-gwan with 7.65 percent and another candidate Kim Ji-soo with 1.54 percent. In Sejong, Lee won 90.21 percent of the vote, followed by the other two candidates who respectively earned 8.22 percent and 1.57 percent. The DP will wrap up its primaries with a final vote in Seoul scheduled for Aug. 17, and the party will announce a new leader and new members of its Supreme Council in a national convention the following day. Lee resigned as DP leader in June to seek reelection in accordance with party rules that stipulate the party chair must resign from leadership position to run as a candidate. Source: Yonhap News Agency