Photo: Lee Jun-seok with the party flag for the People Power Party, shortly after his election to the party chairman post. Credit: Website of the People Power Party.
The People Power Party 국민의힘, the main conservative opposition, elected Lee Jun-seok 이준석, a 36-year-old conservative pundit noted for his aggressive misogyny, as its party chairman 당대표. In the internal election held on June 11, Lee won with 43.8% of the vote to prevail over four other candidates. (See previous coverage, “Incel Leader Aims at the Conservative Chair.”)
Lee is the youngest-ever chairman of a major party in South Korea’s democratic history, which never previously saw a party chairman in his 30s. Lee is also the first major party chairman in South Korean history to have never won an election, indicating the dearth of talent among the conservatives. The PPP’s internal election had a record turnout of 45.3% among the approximately 328k party members.