S. Korea’s ruling party picks new leader in national convention

SEOUL, July 23 (Xinhua) — South Korea’s ruling People Power Party held a national convention Tuesday, electing Han Dong-hoon as new leader of the conservative party.
Han, the party’s former interim leader and former justice minister of the incumbent government, secured a majority of 62.8 percent in the vote, according to Yonhap news agency.
The 51-year-old was followed by former land and transport minister Won Hee-ryong with 18.8 percent of the ballots cast, five-term lawmaker Na Kyung-won with 14.6 percent and five-term lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun with 3.7 percent.
The People Power Party suffered a crushing defeat in April’s parliamentary elections, where the conservative party was led by Han as an interim leader.
The voter turnout to elect the ruling party leadership stood at 48.51 percent, lower than 55.10 percent tallied in the previous national convention in March last year. ■