SEOUL, May 11 (AJP) - Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the main opposition Democratic Party, spent Sunday campaigning across South Jeolla Province, making a final appeal to voters in rural strongholds ahead of the official start of the election period.
Lee toured the southwestern counties of Hwasun, Gangjin, Haenam and Yeongam, engaging with local residents as part of his last regional push before the campaign formally begins on Tuesday.
The visits were part of a broader tour of small towns and provincial areas that are often overlooked during the frenetic pace of the official election period.
Beginning earlier this month, Lee traveled through border areas of northern Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces, continued along the so-called East Coast Belt through eastern Gangwon and northern North Gyeongsang, and visited towns across the Chungcheong region, North Jeolla, and the conservative stronghold of the Gyeongsang region.
In Hwasun on Sunday, Lee vowed to confront what he described as “anti-historical and anti-democratic forces.”
“We must build a country where the people are truly respected as sovereign,” he said, invoking the memory of Dec. 3, when martial law was declared by then-President Yoon Suk Yeol.
“We won then, and we are still fighting and winning against rebellion today,” he added. “Let your overwhelming vote build an overwhelming future.”
Lee remains the front-runner in the presidential race, according to recent polling.
A Realmeter survey released on Sunday showed him leading in a three-way contest with 52.1 percent of the vote. Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party trailed with 31.1 percent, while Lee Jun-seok of the newly formed Reform Party garnered 6.3 percent.
reporter
Candice Kim
candicekim1121@ajupress.com
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