(LEAD) DP presidential candidate cancels campaign activities after wife's hospitalization

(ATTN: CHANGES lead; UPDATES with latest info from 4th para)

SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Yonhap) -- Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), canceled his campaign activities on Tuesday after his wife was hospitalized for injuries sustained in a fall, his party said.

The former Gyeonggi governor had been scheduled to hold meetings with firefighters and young people on virtual assets and attend a convention for women, but all those events were called off after his wife, Kim Hye-kyung, was admitted to a hospital in Gyeonggi Province around 1:30 a.m.

"Lee spoke to organizers and people related to events that he is sorry for not keeping his promise (to attend the events)," the DP said.

Kim fainted at her home after vomiting and experiencing lightheadedness, and sustained lacerations as she fell, according to Rep. Lee Hae-sik of the DP. She was taken to a hospital in Seongnam, south of Seoul, via ambulance.

Kim had no underlying conditions, but was apparently fatigued recently after helping her husband's campaign activities, the lawmaker added.

She was discharged from the hospital around noon.

"I want to be a woman's husband before being a presidential candidate," Lee wrote on his Facebook page. "I'm always sorry for my wife. She is currently recovering well."

With Lee's absence, there was no face-to-face encounter between presidential candidates from the ruling and opposition parties at the 56th National Convention for Women in Seoul.

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, who is the presidential nominee of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), and two other presidential candidates, Ahn Cheol-soo of the minor opposition People's Party and Sim Sang-jeung of the progressive Justice Party, attended the event and promoted their policies for women.

kdon@yna.co.kr
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