hankyoreh

Kim Gi-hyeon raises his arms in celebration of being elected the ruling People Power Party’s new leader at a party convention on March 8. (Kang Chang-kwang/The Hankyoreh)

National Assembly member Kim Gi-hyeon was selected as the new People Power Party (PPP) leader at a party convention on Wednesday.

At the first convention held since Yoon Suk-yeol took office as South Korean president last year, Kim received a majority of votes, which cemented him as leading without the need for a runoff.

During the convention process, the full-scale support that Kim received from Yoon triggered accusations of “interference in party affairs.” Now he faces the task of having to establish a balanced relationship between the PPP and presidential office and unite the party ahead of the general elections in April of next year.

At a convention that took place on Wednesday at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Kim received 52.93% of the vote (244,163 votes), putting him well ahead of rival Ahn Cheol-soo, who received 23.37% (107,803).

With Kim receiving a majority in the first round of balloting based entirely on party member electoral college votes, his selection as party leader was finalized without the need for a runoff.

Other candidates included Chun Ha-ram, who received 14.98% of the vote, and Hwang Kyo-ahn, who received 8.72%.

“I will join as one with party members to rescue the public livelihood and lead us to certain victory in the general election next year. Let us join together to achieve a landslide victory in the election,” Kim said during his acceptance speech.

In a subsequent press conference, Kim also promised to “meet with the leaders of the various opposition parties, including [Democratic Party] leader Lee Jae-myung, as soon as possible to hear their opinions.”

Former lawmaker Kim Jae-won, former interim council member Kim Byeong-min, and lawmakers Cho Su-jin and Tae Young-ho were elected to the party’s Supreme Council, which will lead the party alongside Kim, while Jang Ye-chan, head of the Korea Youth Foundation, was elected as the youth representative on the supreme council. All these leaders are strong supporters of Yoon.

The election of the new leadership puts the PPP back under normal operations after eight months of interim leadership, following the ethics committee’s disciplinary action against former party leader Lee Jun-seok in July 2022.

In a comment about Kim’s election as PPP head, Democratic Party spokesperson Ahn Ho-young said, “Congratulations should be in order for the newly elected party head, but one hesitates to congratulate someone who is under a cloud of allegations about unethical land speculation and the president’s meddling in party business. Party democracy is totally defunct in the PPP.”

By Kim Hae-jeong, staff reporter

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