Kim Ki-hyeon, a four-term lawmaker and former floor leader of the governing People Power Party (PPP), was elected as the party’s new leader on Wednesday.

At the PPP’s national convention held at the Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX) in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, Kim won 244,163 votes, or 52.93 percent of the votes cast, to win over his biggest rival Ahn Cheol-soo that received 23.37 percent of the votes. The results combine both text and ARS votes of all party members.

Cheon Ha-ram, an attorney, won 14.98 percent of the votes, and Hwang Kyo-ahn, former Prime Minister, 8.72 percent.

The votes Kim won are 150,000 more in numbers than what former PPP leader Lee Jun-seok obtained when he was elected in 2021 with only 93,392 votes.

At the time, there were only 328,000 party members and voter turnout was 45.36 percent. This time, on the other hand, there were 837,000 members and voter turnout was 55.1 percent. This suggests that Kim won an overwhelming support from the party members.

Kim is expected to call for unity within the party and make an all-out effort to innovate the governing party and win a victory in next year’s general elections.

The PPP also elected five Supreme Council members ? former lawmaker Kim Jae-won, former presidential campaign spokesperson Kim Byung-min, Representative Cho Su-jin, and defector-turned-lawmaker Tae Yong-ho. Jang Ye-chan, an aide to President Yoon Suk-yeol during his presidential campaign, was elected as head of the youth division of the party.

By Lee Ji-yong and Yoon Yeon-hae

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]