Lee Nak-yon admits defeat in Democratic Party primary

He calls on his supporters to support Lee Jae-myung, the party's presidential candidate

Lee Nak-yon congratulates Lee Jae-myung, who was chosen as the Democratic Party’s candidate for president, during a joint speech session in Seoul on Sunday. (Yonhap News)

Lee Nak-yon, the former head of the ruling Democratic Party, conceded defeat in the party’s presidential primary on Wednesday, saying he would “respect the decision of the party affairs committee.” This was Lee’s first official announcement about the presidential primary results following Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung’s victory on Sunday.

In an announcement that followed a decision by the Democratic Party’s party affairs committee to overturn a motion to nullify the results of the party’s presidential primary, Lee said that while the issue of handling ballots cast for candidates who dropped out of the race “still remains,” he stated that he respects the decision of the party affairs committee and accepts the results of the primary contest.

He also sent a message of congratulations to Lee Jae-myung on his victory in the election, saying that “presidential candidate Lee will do his best for the unity of the party and victory in the presidential election.”

Sensing the concern within the party that there will be a split into factions, Lee Nak-yon made clear he would fully support the party’s presidential candidate. “I will work to ensure the Democratic Party’s victory,” he said, adding, “I will seriously consider what I can do and take whatever action I can to overcome the difficulties the party faces and help reelect the party’s candidate to office by gaining the trust of the people.”

Lee Nak-yon sent a message to those of his supporters who do not accept the primary election results, asking them to stop preparing an application to nullify the results. He expressed his appreciation and apologies to all those who supported his candidacy and said that it is “wrong to show contempt or ostracize anyone.” Lee said that doing that would make it “impossible to win” and that he was “very worried about this.”

He called on his supporters to “unite, because that will make the people embrace us.”

By Song Chae Kyung-hwa, staff reporter

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