Four candidates running for leadership of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) stand next to one another during a broadcast debate at SBS' studio in Seoul, Friday. From left are Rep. Na Kyung-won, former interim party leader Han Dong-hoon, Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun and former Land Minister Won Hee-ryong. National Assembly pool photo

Negative campaigning in the ruling People Power Party (PPP) leadership race appears to be alienating party members and the general public, according to party observers, Monday, who fear a lower voter turnout at the party's national convention on Tuesday.

While the four candidates in the party leadership race are mired in negative tactics, utilizing personal slander and character attacks rather than discussing the party's future visions, former interim leader Han Dong-hoon has consistently maintained a leading position among the candidates.

However, there are observations that cracks in Han's dominant position are starting to show due to concentrated attacks by the other three candidates: five-term lawmakers Rep. Na Kyung-won and Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun and former Land Minister Won Hee-ryong.

On Monday, Han sought last-minute support in Gyeonggi Province, while Na and Won rallied campaigns in the southeastern Gyeongsang region, a conservative stronghold.

The candidates chose these regions for their final rallies because of their significant voting power.

While Gyeonggi Province alone constitutes about 37 percent of the conservative party's membership, Gyeongsang Province is home to about 40 percent of the conservative party members. The southeastern region has long been significant for wielding major influence in party leadership races.

When combined with the Seoul metropolitan area — including neighboring Gyeonggi Province — and the Gyeongsang provinces, these areas account for more than 80 percent of the ruling party members, making them key to determining the party leadership outcome.

Han once again urged party members to participate in the election, as he plans to solidify and maintain his strong position all the way to the end of the race.

"The PPP awaits the choice from our party members as well as the public. Your choice will change the party and the country," Han wrote on social media earlier in the day.

Na and Won, who are each competing for second and third place in the race, targeted areas in Busan and Daegu, respectively, on Monday. Meanwhile, Rep. Yoon held a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, addressing the opposition's push for an impeachment inquiry into President Yoon Suk Yeol.

From left are Rep. Na Kyung-won, former Land Minister Won Hee-ryong, Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun and former interim party leader Han Dong-hoon. Yonhap

The mutual attacks that have defined this leadership race continued unabated until the last day of campaign.

In a YTN radio interview earlier in the day, Na criticized Han, stating: "Han Dong-hoon is unqualified for the role of party leader. What if we end up with a party leader focused on image politics during this crisis?"

The day before, Won had also criticized Han on social media, calling him a liar and saying: "The future envisioned by someone who lacks even a sense of camaraderie is merely a selfish future."

Rep. Yoon joined the fray in a media interview earlier, accusing both Han and Won of using the convention as a stepping stone for their presidential ambitions.

Amid the mudslinging, the voter turnout among party members stood at 45.98 percent, 7.15 percentage points lower than the 53.13 percent turnout on the final day of last year's PPP National Convention.

Political pundits suggest that the current contentious nature of the convention can be understood through two main conflicting priorities held by party members in this leadership race.

"The two primary concerns for party members are: first, preventing the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol, and second, identifying the right candidate to rebuild conservatism. As the ideal candidate for rebuilding conservatism needs to differentiate from President Yoon and provide necessary checks on the administration, the candidates suited to prevent impeachment and those suited for rebuilding conservatism seem to be at odds with each other. This conflict has led to the negative, mudslinging tone of the convention," Eom Kyeong-young, director of the Zeitgeist Institute, a private political think tank, told The Korea Times on Monday.

He noted that Won is seen as the leading candidate to protect the president from impeachment, while Han is considered the top choice for rebuilding conservatism.

Yet, Eom added that such levels of negative campaigning and mudslinging are somewhat typical at conventions, as he pointed out that recent polls show the ruling party's approval rating rising, outpacing that of its main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) by some 10 percentage points.

"The poll results seem to suggest that the public might be showing more support for the PPP's contentious convention rather than the main opposition DPK single leadership under Lee Jae-myung," Eom said.