DP to move top office from Seoul to Sejong; PPP kicks off primaries with media day

Thank you for joining us. I'm Bae Eun-ji, filling in for Yoon Jung-min.

The Democratic Party of Korea's primaries are being held by region and their first stop is Chungcheong-do, a place considered a key battleground in presidential elections.

Meanwhile, eight contestants of the People Power Party are now getting ready for debates set for this weekend.

Our National Assembly correspondent Kim Do-yeon starts us off.

Preliminary presidential candidates from the Democratic Party of Korea unveiled their strategies to boost growth in the Chungcheong-do provinces on Thursday, coinciding with the start of online voting by DP electors the day before.

All three candidates shared a common pledge to fully establish Sejong City, located within Chungcheong-do, as South Korea's administrative capital, proposing to relocate the presidential office there.

This pledge also follows a move by impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, who previously relocated the presidential office from the Blue House to Yongsan—a decision heavily criticized by the DP as an unnecessary budget expenditure, and notably, the site of his martial law declaration.

Chungcheong-do remains a crucial battleground for presidential candidates; notably, the winner of this region has also secured victory in the last seven presidential elections.

Meanwhile, the People Power Party held a media day for its primary contestants on Thursday.

With eight contestants, they broke the first round debates into two groups by topic.

Future for the young generations and social unity.

The future for the young generations debate will be held by Yoo Jeong-bok, Ahn Cheol-soo, Kim Moon-soo, and Yang Hyang-ja on Saturday.

Social unity by Lee Cheol-woo, Na Kyung-won, Han Dong-hoon, and Hong Joon-pyo on Sunday.

The People Power Party also launched its preparatory committee for the presidential election.

Chaired by lawmaker Yun Jae-ok, the committee is set to prepare for the PPP presidential election campaign once the party's candidate is chosen.

Yun said it's long overdue as the prep should've started before but said, "the tortoise beat the hare."

Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News.