(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with results)
By Yi Wonju
SEOUL, Aug. 18 (Yonhap) -- Lee Jae-myung, former chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party, won his second term as party chief with a record-high vote share at a national convention on Sunday.
Lee, a former DP leader, won 85.4 percent of the accumulated votes from registered party members across 17 rounds of primaries, which concluded in Seoul the previous day, marking the highest level of support for a DP leader at a national convention.
Lee claimed a landslide victory over runner-up former Interior Minister Kim Doo-gwan, who garnered 12.12 percent.
The result made Lee the second DP chief to serve two consecutive terms, following Kim Dae-jung, who led the National Congress for New Politics, a predecessor of the DP, from 1995-2000 before becoming president.
In June, Lee resigned to run for reelection as the current party rule stipulates the party 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.
Lee's victory defied calls from some internal lawmakers for a new leadership and criticism that Lee is staining the party's image. His term will last for two years.
In 2022, Lee won the chairmanship of the DP after losing the presidential race to President Yoon Suk Yeol by a thin margin.
Lee Jae-myung, former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, delivers a speech at a national convention at the Olympic Park in southern Seoul on Aug. 18, 2024. (Yonhap)
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