PPP race heads to runoff

[Anchor]

Today (Aug. 22), a party convention was held to elect the new leader of the People Power Party.

In the main election with four candidates, there was no candidate with a majority of votes, leading to a runoff between candidates Kim Moon-soo and Jang Dong-hyuk.

The final party leader will be elected on the 26th.

Reporter Kim Min-hyuk has the details.

[Report]

[Hwang Woo-yeo/Chairman of the Election Management Committee of the People Power Party: "(The total vote percentage of the highest vote-getter) did not exceed 50%."]

The People Power Party leadership election was conducted along lines of support for and opposition to impeachment.

The counting results showed that there was no candidate with a majority of votes.

Candidates Kim Moon-soo and Jang Dong-hyuk, who are against impeachment, advanced to the runoff, where the final party leader will be elected on the 26th.

Candidates Ahn Cheol-soo and Cho Kyoung-tae, who supported impeachment, emphasized severing ties with former President Yoon Suk Yeol and renewing the party's personnel, but they faced defeat.

Ahead of the runoff, candidates Kim Moon-soo and Jang Dong-hyuk emphasized strong resistance against the Lee Jae Myung government and party unity.

[Kim Moon-soo/People Power Party Leader Candidate: "Let’s unite and fight together with the people. We must bring down the Lee Jae Myung dictatorship, everyone."]

[Jang Dong-hyuk/People Power Party Leader Candidate: "Will we carry on with division, or will we organize internal dissenters and move forward as a united front…"]

For the Supreme Council, candidates Kim Min-soo, Kim Jae-won, Shin Dong-wook, and Yang Hyang-ja were elected, and for the Youth Supreme Council, candidate Woo Jae-jun was elected.

Considering that candidates Kim Moon-soo and Jang Dong-hyuk are against impeachment, the new leadership of the People Power Party has clearly taken an anti-impeachment stance.

Meanwhile, at today’s convention, a constitutional amendment was passed to prohibit the president's intervention in party affairs and to ban factional politics.

[Jeong Jeom-sik/Secretary General of the People Power Party: "It prohibits actions that would lead to the party being privatized or undermine internal democracy…"]

Candidates Kim Moon-soo and Jang Dong-hyuk, who advanced to the runoff, will hold a debate tomorrow (Aug. 23).

The runoff voting for party members and the public will take place over two days starting the day after tomorrow (Aug. 24).

This is KBS News reporter Kim Min-hyuk.