[Anchor]

The race for the Democratic Party leadership at the national convention has been finalized as a three-way contest among former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, former Party Leader Jung Chung-rae, and Representative Song Young-gil. The field of Supreme Council member candidates has also been narrowed from 14 to 8.

Reporting by Kim Kwan-jin.

[Reporter]

The main preliminary race for the Democratic Party leadership has been narrowed down to three candidates: former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, former Party Leader Jung Chung-rae, and Representative Song Young-gil.

The Democratic Party Election Commission announced that out of approximately 1,554,200 eligible voters in the total electoral college, the voter turnout recorded 37.44%.

However, the vote counts for individual candidates were not disclosed.

The three leadership candidates shared their determination ahead of the main race.

[Kim Min-seok / Former Prime Minister : I will approach the main primary seriously with a heavy sense of responsibility. The Democratic Party will win.]

[Jung Chung-rae / Former Democratic Party Leader : Beyond mere attacks, acts harmful to the party that put the party in danger will resolutely not be forgiven.]

[Song Young-gil / Democratic Party Representative : President Lee Jae-myung is dedicated to state affairs in isolation. I will showcase a future-oriented Democratic Party.]

Representative Ko Min-jung and former Gangjin County Council member Kim Bo-mi, who fronted youth politics, were eliminated in the preliminary primary.

Representative Ko Min-jung posted on social media, "I accept the election results," adding, "I hope the Democratic Party is one where diverse colors coexist beyond factions." Former Gangjin County Council member Kim Bo-mi argued for generational change in the party until the very end.

[Kim Bo-mi / Former Gangjin County Council Member : Without young people, our Democratic Party has no future. Therefore, the spirit of the times is generational change.]

In the Supreme Council preliminary primary, 8 out of 14 candidates advanced to the main primary.

Among the 8 candidates, 5 including Park Sun-won, Kim Yong, Seo Mi-hwa, Kim Young-ho, and Lim Mi-ae are classified as pro-Lee Jae-myung faction, while 3 including Lee Sung-yoon, Han Min-soo, and Choi Min-hee are classified as pro-Jung Chung-rae faction.

The main primary will kick off regional circuit primaries starting next month on the 1st in Chungnam, Chungbuk, Daejeon, and Sejong, running through the 16th.

TV debates for the party leadership candidates will be held three times starting next week, and the TV debate for Supreme Council candidates will take place once.

(Photo: Yonhap News / Video reporting: Oh Young-chun, Kim Yong-woo)