The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) was set to hold a national convention to elect its new chief Sunday, with former Chairman Lee Jae-myung widely expected to win the race for a second term.
Lee, a former DPK leader, has stayed overwhelmingly ahead of other candidates — former Interior Minister Kim Doo-gwan and Kim Ji-soo — winning nearly 90 percent of the combined ballots cast by registered party members in 17 rounds of primaries that concluded the previous day.
The five other members of the top leadership council will also be elected at the convention.
In June, Lee resigned to run for reelection as the current party rule stipulates the party 추천 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.
Despite calls for a new leadership among some DPK lawmakers and criticism that Lee is staining the party’s image, he will likely win Sunday’s election to lead the party for the next two years.
In 2022, Lee won the chairmanship of the DPK after losing the presidential race to President Yoon Suk Yeol by a thin margin.