The voting by eligible party members in the Honam region, the biggest battleground in the Democratic Party of Korea's leadership race, will begin on the 11th. With 33% of all eligible party members concentrated in Honam, all three candidates—Song Young-gil, Jung Chung-rae, and Kim Min-seok—are staking everything on securing the Honam vote.

Amid this, KBC Gwangju Broadcasting will hold a live televised debate for 90 minutes starting at 9 p.m. on the 10th. As the first regional broadcaster to invite all three Democratic Party leadership candidates to a single event, this debate will focus on verifying their strategies for Honam's development and their visions for party management.

■ How the Debate Will Unfold

The debate will begin with opening statements from the candidates, followed by common questions, lead-topic debates, and a free discussion segment. Song Young-gil, Jung Chung-rae, and Kim Min-seok will present their plans for key Honam regional issues such as the creation of a semiconductor cluster and the expansion of social overhead capital (SOC), as well as strategies for securing national funding and party-level support measures.

In the first lead-topic debate, under the theme of "Strategy for Honam's Development," the candidates will exchange questions to verify the feasibility and distinctiveness of their policies. This will be followed by a "One Snapshot of Life" segment where each candidate introduces a photo symbolizing their political philosophy and life.

In the latter half, the restoration of Honam's political standing and the issue of opposition realignment will be addressed as main agendas. The candidates will reveal their solutions to the weakening political influence of the Honam region, which emerged through the 21st and 22nd general elections, as well as their positions on the possibility of integration or political alliance with the Rebuilding Korea Party. In the second lead-topic debate, overall issues including party leadership, intra-party integration, and state administration capabilities will be discussed without topic restrictions. The debate will conclude with one-minute closing statements from each candidate.

KBC stated that it organized this debate to reflect the political significance of Honam and the interest in regional issues such as the creation of a semiconductor cluster in the southwestern region.

■ Primary Schedule and Variables

The Honam tour primary will run from the 11th to the 14th, with the final results announced on the 15th. In the previous tour primaries held in Chungcheong and the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam region, close contests unfolded among the candidates. In particular, this convention will newly introduce a preferential voting system in which, if no candidate secures a majority, the votes of the lowest-ranking candidate will be redistributed to the second-choice candidate, which is expected to serve as a last-minute variable.

■ Candidates' Honam Moves

Each candidate emphasized their strengths on the ground in Honam, appealing for support from party members. Kim Min-seok toured South Jeolla, Gwangju, and North Jeolla over five days last week to gauge public sentiment, while Song Young-gil and Jung Chung-rae also stayed in Honam for four days and two days, respectively, striving to consolidate their support bases.

Song Young-gil pledged efforts to prevent the distortion of the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement. Jung Chung-rae emphasized new projects and budget allocations for the Honam Special Committee. Kim Min-seok stressed that success in semiconductors and AI is the future of Honam and the Republic of Korea.