Hwang Woo-yea, new head of emergency committee of People Power Party / Newsis

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) on Thursday has approved the appointment of a retired former lawmaker to head its interim emergency leadership committee, three weeks after the previous party chief stepped down.

Hwang Woo-yea, a former five-term lawmaker now serving as a standing adviser to the party, will head the committee tasked with organizing a national convention to elect a new party leader following its crushing defeat in the recent parliamentary elections.

Hwang will be entrusted to finalize the rules for electing the new leadership until the national convention, expected to take place late next month or early July.

In a vote conducted by the party's national committee via an automated calling system, the formation of the emergency committee and Hwang's appointment was approved with 91.8 percent of the respondents in favor, according to the voting body.

"The term of the party's leader is supposedly two years, but this is the sixth time the leadership has changed since this administration took office," Hwang said. "My job is to bring in great leadership so our party gets back on its normal track."

Rep. Yun Jae-ok, the PPP's floor leader and the party's acting chairman, stressed that the PPP has "no time to delay" as he convened a meeting of the national committee.

The PPP has been led by an emergency committee since August 2022 after former party Chairman Lee Jun-seok was removed as leader. The previous committee led by Han Dong-hoon broke up following the party's crushing defeat in the general elections last month.

Hwang is a retired veteran politician who served as former chairman of the Saenuri Party, the PPP's former name, from 2012 to 2014. He also served as prime minister and education minister under former President Park Geun-hye. (Yonhap)