On October 10, Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung (57) was elected as the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea. Lee, who lost in the party primaries in 2017, was chosen as the ruling party candidate in his second attempt. However, this day, in the third vote among the public electoral college, Governor Lee lost to former party leader Lee Nak-yon by a significant margin and barely obtained more than half of the total votes in the primaries. There is concern that the allegations of special favors in the Daejang-dong development project could chase the candidate all the way to the presidential race. Governor Lee said, “The upcoming presidential election will be the ultimate sweeping victory against the corrupt powers with vested interests” and announced, “I will by all means complete the change and reforms that the people demand.”

In the final primary held at the SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium at Olympic Park, Seoul, Lee Jae-myung secured his candidacy in the presidential race by obtaining 50.29% of the total valid votes. He was followed by Lee Nak-yon with 39.14%, former Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae with 9.01%, and lawmaker Park Yong-jin with 1.55%.

Lee Jae-myung won the primaries in Gyeonggi the previous day with 56,820 votes (59.29%) and in Seoul this day with 45,737 votes (51.45%). But in the third vote by the public electoral college, he came in second with 70,441 votes (28.30%) after Lee Nak-yon, who received 155,220 votes (62.37%). Governor Lee also lost to Lee Nak-yon (2,403 votes, 55.59%) in a vote taken among overseas Koreans, only earning 1,370 votes (31.69%). The corruption allegations surrounding the Daejang-dong development project appear to have been reflected in the third vote by the electoral college.

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The Democratic Party of Korea held eleven local primaries and three primaries among public electoral colleges since September 4 until this day, and Lee Jae-myung lost to Lee Nak-yon in the third election by the electoral college, the local primary in the Gwangju, Jeollanam-do region, and in the votes by overseas Koreans. The final votes obtained by Lee Jae-myung fell short of the 57.0% of the votes that candidate Moon Jae-in secured in the Democratic Party primaries in April 2017.

In a speech expressing his gratitude after being selected the party’s candidate, Lee Jae-myung said, “Today, we chose reforms,” and added, “I will by all means complete the change and reforms that the people demand.” He further said, “I will restrain the excessive desire of the strong and protect the lives of the vulnerable.”

Governor Lee continued and said, “I will change the direction of the economic growth chart so that it goes up with a strong economic stimulus policy led by the state.” He also pledged to build a country of grand integration where everyone could enjoy a fair opportunity based on a just order instead of simply patching up problems without fundamentally resolving the issue.

However, Lee Jae-myung is still faced with the tricky problem of corruption allegations linked to the Daejang-dong development project. A past aide to Governor Lee, Yoo Dong-gyu, former director of planning at the Seongnam Development Corporation, is under arrest for corruption in the Daejang-dong project, and if the sparks spread to the governor, it would cast a dark cloud over his victory in the presidential election. The fact that he barely secured more than half of the votes after losing by a big margin in the third primary of the public electoral college will also be a burden on him in the future.

Lee Jae-myung spoke on the Daejang-dong allegations and said, “If any illegal activities, such as the bribes in the ‘People Power Party’s Hwacheon Daeyu-gate,’ are detected, we will claw back the profits from development in full even retroactively and stop unjust unearned income from going into the hands of the few.” At the same time, he defined the upcoming presidential election as “a final sweeping victory against the corrupt powers with vested interest,” and said, “I will root out the corruption of politicians with cozy ties with the construction and civil engineering industry.”

Criticism that the basic income, one of Lee Jae-myung’s key pledges, is populism is likely to intensify in the presidential race. A “chemical bond” with Lee Nak-yon’s supporters is also something that the Gyeonggi governor must achieve.

President Moon Jae-in congratulated Lee and said, “As a member of the Democratic Party, I congratulate Governor Lee on his nomination as the party candidate.” The president spoke through Cheongwadae spokesperson Park Kyung-mee and also said, “I am pleased that the primaries were held smoothly.”