Former South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon has won a key battleground region to claim his first electoral victory in the ruling Democratic Party (DP)’s primary for the 2022 presidential election.

The former party chairman garnered 47.1 percent of the 71,835 votes cast by registered party members in the Gwangju-South Jeolla Province region, defeating Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-Myung by a razor-thin margin of 0.2 percentage points, according to the election results released on Saturday.

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The former Prime Minister’s victory in the Gwangju-South Jeolla Province region, a key electoral stronghold of the liberal party, snapped the winning streak of the Gyeonggi Governor, who won all the four previous regional primary votes by a landslide margin, reports Yonhap News Agency.

Former Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae came in third, winning 4.3 percent of the votes, followed by Rep. Kim Du-Kwan with 0.9 percent and Rep. Park Yong-jin at 0.6 percent.

Lee Nak-yon, who won his first victory in his hometown, said the triumph ignited a spark of greater hope. “Based on today’s results, we’ll work harder and make better results,” he said.

Governor Lee expressed his gratitude, saying he received more support than expected. “We predicted that it would be very disadvantageous, but thank you first for your support.”

Lee Nak-yon is pinning hope on the remaining course of the primary, particularly the regional vote in North Jeolla Province on Sunday, to reverse the race in his favor.

The DP is required to hold an additional run-off vote, pitting the frontrunner against the runner-up to pick its single candidate for the March 9, 2022, presidential election if none of the five candidates wins a majority vote in the ongoing 11-leg competition that will wrap up in Seoul on October 10.

Earlier in the day, Lee Nak-yon appealed to people in the regions by saying that he is a candidate with no moral flaws, comparing himself to the governor who is embroiled in a controversy regarding the suspicious development of Daejang-dong while he was a mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

“Many people are angry over the development corruption in Daejang-dong, Seongnam. I will thoroughly dig into the corruption and punish anyone involved according to the law,” the former Prime Minister said.