SEOUL-- Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung is expected to announce his presidential bid this week, joining the race to pick the ruling Democratic Party's standard-bearer for next year's election, a close aide said Sunday.
Lee is to declare his bid for presidency on Thursday after completing the registration as a preliminary candidate with the DP, according to Rep. Park Hong-geun, one of his close aides.
Lee, who is currently leading polls among potential candidates in the ruling bloc, will be the latest to declare his official bid for presidency.
So far, six people have expressed intentions to run for president, including Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, Gangwon Province Gov. Choi Moon-soon and Rep. Park Yong-jin.
On Friday, the DP decided to pick its presidential candidate for the election in March as scheduled by Sept. 10. Some had demanded the process be postponed until November partly due to worries that the event could not garner sufficient public attention amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Source: Yonhap News Agency