DP's primary nearing end while PPP contestants open to merging with Acting President Han

Over this upcoming weekend, the primary for the Democratic Party of Korea will wrap up.

While Lee Jae-myung has a clear lead, a last-minute push is being done by other candidates.

Meanwhile the People Power Party continued with the one-on-one debates, but Acting President Han Duck-soo has been stealing the spotlight.

Our Kim Do-yeon reports.

The Democratic Party of Korea's primary is nearing its end and the last debate before the DP's candidate is finalized will be live at 10 PM on Friday.

Utilizing the 90-minute debate, the three candidates will go over various issues.

During the day, the candidates kept themselves busy with campaign work.

Front-runner Lee Jae-myung was in Jeollanam-do Province to boost his support in the party's stronghold with the region's voting still open.

Lee met with people in agriculture businesses and pledged to make the nation's agro industry globally strong.

Both Kim Kyung-soo and Kim Dong-yeon joined the celebration for the 7th anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration earlier in the afternoon at the National Assembly Library.

The DP electors' voting for the Jeolla-do provinces will close on Saturday, while the capital, Gangwon-do Province, and Jeju will close on Sunday which is also when the convention will be held to name the primary's winner and officially kick off the presidential campaign for the party.

Meanwhile, the People Power Party's one-on-one debates featured Han Dong-hoon and Hong Joon-pyo, who chose each other as partners making theirs a three-hour clash.

The two were heated over how they view former President Yoon's declaration of martial law and over who is more competitive against DP's likely candidate Lee Jae-myung.

Meanwhile, speculation grows over whether Acting President Han Duck-soo will join the race.

All four PPP primary candidates—including Ahn Cheol-soo, who joined this morning—have now pledged to merge their campaigns with the acting president's if he runs.

Initially, only Kim Moon-soo supported the idea.

The remaining three still are not in favor of him running, but now they say they'll unite their camps if he does.

Or, whatever it takes to win against DP's Lee Jae-myung.

Some PPP supporters are also in favor, although the acting president himself remains silent on the matter.

AND, such comments could be tied to the fact that the primary will be decided 50-50 between PPP electors and an open survey, meaning PPP supporters' votes are crucial for the candidates.

Kim Do-yeon, Arirang News.