South Korea: Ex-DP leader Lee wins 2nd term as party leader (Ld)

Seoul, Aug 18 (IANS) Lee Jae-myung, former chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, won his second term as party chief with a record-high vote share at a national convention on Sunday.

Lee, a former DP leader, won 85.4 per cent of the accumulated votes from registered party members across 17 rounds of primaries, which concluded in Seoul the previous day and separate public opinion polls, marking the highest level of support for a DP leader at a national convention, reports Yonhap news agency.

Lee had also set the previous record of 77.7 per cent when he won the first term in 2022.

Lee claimed a landslide victory over runner-up former Interior Minister Kim Doo-gwan, who garnered 12.12 per cent, and Kim Ji-soo, who received 2.48 per cent.

The result made Lee the second DP chief to serve two consecutive terms, following Kim Dae-jung, who led the National Congress for New Politics, a predecessor of the DP, from 1995-2000 before becoming president.

In his acceptance speech during the convention held at the Olympic Park in southern Seoul, Lee offered to hold bilateral talks with President Yoon Suk Yeol to address what he calls the most pressing task: recovering people’s livelihood.

“The most urgent issue is recovering people’s livelihood, but the agenda doesn’t need to be restricted to that if it can give hope to the public,” Lee said.

He also proposed separate bilateral talks with Han Dong-hoon, leader of the ruling People Power Party, to discuss “pressing issues,” most notably a bill calling for a special counsel investigation into the death of a young Marine conscript last year during a search for flood victims.

“Let us put an end to the politics of extreme confrontation and explore ways to advance democracy, which could help alleviate the ruinous regionalism,” he said.

In June, Lee resigned to run for reelection as the current party rule stipulates the party chair must resign from his leadership position to be eligible as a candidate.

Lee is also considered a leading candidate for the liberal party for the next presidential election in 2027, though he is at the heart of several scandals, including a land development scandal in Seongnam, south of Seoul.

Lee’s victory defied calls from some internal lawmakers for a new leadership and criticism that Lee is staining the party’s image. His term will last for two years.

In 2022, Lee won the chairmanship of the DP after losing the presidential race to President Yoon Suk Yeol by a thin margin.

During Sunday’s national convention, the party also elected five new members to its Supreme Council: Reps. Kim Min-seok, Jeon Hyun-heui, Han Jun-ho, Kim Byung-joo and Lee Un-ju.

–IANS

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