Candidates of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) greet audience on stage at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, July 23. They are, from left, former Land Minister Won Hee-ryong, Rep. Na Kyung-won, Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun and former PPP interim leader Han Dong-hoon. Yonhap

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) held a national convention Tuesday to elect a new party leader to head the embattled party following the party's crushing defeat in April's parliamentary elections.

The party convention comes nearly three months after former interim leader Han Dong-hoon resigned after the general elections to take responsibility for the defeat.

Han, running again to become the new PPP chief, is leading the race by a relatively significant margin, according to opinion polls.

The four-way race includes runner-up Rep. Na Kyung-won, a five-term lawmaker, and two other contenders: former Land Minister Won Hee-ryong and five-term Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun.

Eyes are on whether Han will secure a majority in the first vote to head off a runoff.

Han, who had been considered close ally of President Yoon Suk Yeol, had clashed with Yoon over a number of politically sensitive issues in the run-up to the general elections, including how to handle allegations that first lady Kim Keon Hee received a luxury bag as a gift in 2022.

Tensions between Han and Yoon's office resurfaced this month over allegations Han snubbed text messages from the first lady early this year. Han reportedly ignored five Telegram messages Kim sent to him in January to offer to resolve a controversy at the time over her alleged illegal acceptance of a luxury bag in 2022.

Declaring his bid last month, Han vowed to "reestablish" the PPP's relations with the government more "horizontally," saying the party has so far been unable to voice reasonable criticism of the government's policy directions or political decisions.

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during the PPP's national convention to elect a new party leader at the Korea International Exhibition Center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, in this picture provided by the presidential office, July 23. Yonhap

During the convention, Yoon stressed the need for unity between the government and the PPP to push forward major agenda items despite challenges from the opposition-controlled National Assembly.

"The large opposition party is ignoring urgent livelihood issues and pressing economic policies, instead focusing on political strife. Although the 22nd National Assembly began two months ago, it effectively remains idle," Yoon said in an address. "To overcome the situation, we need unified strength."

The DPK, which has a controlling majority of 170 seats in the 300-member Assembly, railroaded a contentious bill mandating a special counsel investigation into the military's response to a Marine's death, which was once again vetoed by Yoon earlier this month.

Tuesday's election will fill a seven-month vacuum in the PPP's formal leadership since Rep. Kim Gi-hyeon stepped down in December 2023. The ruling party has been led by an emergency committee since August 2022 after former party chairman Lee Jun-seok was removed as leader.

The PPP earlier revised its party rules to include public opinion polls in the election based on a weight of 20 percent public opinion poll results and 80 percent ballots cast by party members as part of efforts to better reflect public views after its bitter defeat in April.

The PPP is expected to announce the winner around 4:40 p.m. If no candidate wins a majority of the vote, a runoff will take place on July 28. (Yonhap)