[Anchor]

Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok will officially announce his candidacy for the Democratic Party's leadership race today, July 6, in Gwangju, becoming the first among the contenders to do so. Other leading candidates, former party leader Jung Chung-rae and Representative Song Young-gil, are also accelerating their preparations.

Reporter Kim Kwan-jin has the story.

[Reporter]

Former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok has chosen Gwangju, often referred to as the heart of the Democratic Party, as the site for his leadership bid.

Following a visit to the May 18th National Cemetery this morning, Kim is scheduled to officially declare his candidacy for the party leadership at the Jeonil Building 245 in Gwangju.

The Jeonil Building still bears the bullet marks from helicopter gunfire by martial law troops during the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement.

As the first Prime Minister under the Lee Jae-myung administration, Kim positions himself as the ideal candidate to ensure unity and communication between the party and the government. He is expected to prioritize the stability of state affairs in his announcement today.

[Interview: Kim Min-seok / Former Prime Minister (July 3, Democratic Party Workshop) : The direction of pragmatic integration pursued by the Lee Jae-myung administration aligns with the direction of pragmatic integration that I am proposing.]

The movements of his competitors for the party leadership are also intensifying.

Former party leader Jung Chung-rae, who has frequently visited the Honam region recently, visited the birthplace of former President Kim Dae-jung on July 4 and paid his respects at the grave of former President Roh Moo-hyun yesterday, July 5. These actions are interpreted as an effort to highlight his role as the leader who will carry on the roots and legitimacy of the Democratic Party.

Jung also wrote on social media, "Who led the movement for the one-person, one-vote system? Who led the charge for the full abolition of the prosecution's supplementary investigation rights?"—a move seen as emphasizing his ideological clarity by highlighting his leadership on reform tasks.

Representative Song Young-gil, who has publicly criticized Jung, is reportedly deliberating on the timing of his own leadership bid announcement.

An aide to Song told SBS, "We plan to set a specific date for the announcement once the timing of former leader Jung's candidacy is made public."

The Democratic Party will accept registrations for candidates running for party leader and supreme council members for the August 17 national convention on July 16 and 17.

(Video reporting: Shin Dong-hwan | Video editing: Park Chun-bae)