At the embattled party's national convention held at KINTEX, northwest of Seoul, Han avoided a run-off vote by securing a majority vote of 62.84 percent (320,702 votes), far ahead of three other candidates.
Former Land Minister Won Hee-ryong was the distant runner-up with just 18.85 percent of the votes (96,177 votes). The other two candidates, five-term politician Na Kyung-won and veteran lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun took 14.58 percent (74,419 votes) and 3.73 percent (19,051 votes), respectively.
The 51-year-old became a star minister after President Yoon Suk Yeol took office in 2022, gaining popularity by effectively addressing and eloquently countering criticisms from opposition parties during his 20-month tenure.
The justice minister-turned politician took charge of the PPP as an interim leader just ahead of the general elections in April, but stepped down to take responsibility for a humiliating defeat against the main opposition Democratic Party and its satellite parties, which secured a comfortable majority of 175 out of 300 National Assembly seats.
Han, who used to be Yoon's close aide during his time as a prosecutor, had clashed with the president over a couple of sensitive issues such as first lady Kim Keon Hee's acceptance of a luxury handbag and other allegations.
During his acceptance speech, Han vowed to revitalize the party and carry out bold and innovative political reforms to attract new supporters of the PPP from all age groups. "We will create a party that will not be swayed by politicians," Han said.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
