Gyeonggi Gov. Lee further solidifies lead in ruling party primary

SEOUL, Oct. 3 (Yonhap) -- Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung widened his lead in the ruling Democratic Party's presidential primary race on Sunday by winning a comfortable majority of votes in the race's second "super week."

After Sunday's primaries, Lee's support rose to 54.9 percent of the votes cast since the race began early this month, up from Saturday's 53.51 percent, while the support for his rival Lee Nak-yon fell to 34.3 percent from 34.67 percent.

Support for former Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae and Rep. Park Yong-jin came to 9.1 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively.

The race is scheduled to wind up with a primary in Seoul on Oct. 10.

If the current trend holds, Lee is expected to win the party's ticket for March's presidential election without a run-off vote.

Sunday's results showed again that the DP's primaries have seen almost no impact from a snowballing land development scandal in Seongnam, south of Seoul, allegedly involving the governor during his time as the city's mayor in 2015.

The main opposition party has accused Lee of masterminding a scheme that ended up providing astronomical profits to asset management firm Hwacheon Daeyu and its seven affiliates after the firm, which was previously unheard of, was selected as a civilian partner for the project in Seongnam.

odissy@yna.co.kr
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