Seoul: The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has elected three-term lawmaker Jeong Jeom-sig as its new floor leader. This development comes shortly after his predecessor resigned in the wake of the party's significant defeat in the recent local elections.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Jeong, representing a constituency in the conservative stronghold of South Gyeongsang Province, emerged victorious against four-term lawmaker Kim Do-eup and three-term Rep. Sung Il-jong. Jeong secured 55 out of 103 votes in a runoff against Kim. Initially, it was anticipated that Jeong would clinch a victory in the first round by achieving a majority; however, he ultimately won by a narrow margin of seven votes after the runoff.
The election for the floor leader was necessitated by the resignation of Rep. Song Eon-seog, who stepped down just 10 days before his term was supposed to end. Song's resignation followed increasing demands within the PPP for leader Jang Dong-hyeok to resign as well, in response to the party's defeat in the June 3 local elections. Despite retaining control over the key battleground of Seoul, the PPP only managed to secure four out of the 16 key mayoral and gubernatorial positions contested nationwide.
Jeong is widely recognized as being aligned with the pro-Yoon Suk Yeol faction from the previous Yoon administration. As the new floor leader, Jeong faces the challenge of addressing internal divisions and guiding the party's reform efforts in light of the former president's unsuccessful martial law attempt and the party's recent electoral losses.