Reform New Party, 6 Days to National Convention... Igiin vs Heo Euna Neck-and-Neck

With the Reform New Party's national convention to elect a new party leader just six days away, candidates Lee Gi-in and Heo Eun-ah are showing a close race.

According to the Reform New Party on the 13th, in the vote by the university student and journalist evaluation panel at the first national convention joint speech meeting for Busan, Daegu, Ulsan, and Gyeongsang held the previous day at Daegu EXCO, candidate Lee Gi-in received 36 out of 100 valid votes, taking first place. Heo Eun-ah followed with 30 votes, Cho Dae-won with 22 votes, Jeon Seong-gyun with 8 votes, and Cheon Gang-jeong with 4 votes.

The cumulative vote count including previous joint speech meetings in Daejeon, Sejong, Chungcheong, Gwangju, Jeolla, and Jeju shows candidate Lee with 96 votes, Heo with 90 votes, Cho with 61 votes, Jeon with 32 votes, and Cheon with 11 votes. The difference between Lee and Heo is only 6 votes.

At an earlier press conference announcing his candidacy for party leader, candidate Lee emphasized the "generation theory of 40s born in the 1980s." He promised to become a party leader who would check President Yoon Seok-yeol and Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung. His specific pledges included △a party with 200,000 members △establishing an identity as a liberal party. He also expressed his ambition to highlight the selectivity of the conservative party. He stated, "If it is unclear what values we pursue, we cannot seek votes from the people," adding, "We consider the people's livelihood issues but oppose indiscriminate handouts. We pursue peace on the Korean Peninsula but oppose submissive attitudes."

Reform New Party 1st National Convention
(Daejeon=Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Junbeom = On the afternoon of the 8th, at the Reform New Party 1st National Convention Daejeon·Sejong·Chungcheong Joint Speech Meeting held at DCC Daejeon Convention Center in Doryong-dong, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, a commemorative photo was taken. From the left, candidates Jeon Seonggyun, Cheon Gangjeong, Heo Eun-ah, Jo Daewon, and Lee Giin. 2024.5.8
psykims@yna.co.kr
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Candidate Heo emphasized expanding the party's outreach. He expressed his ambition to become a "party leader who makes the president." He stressed, "The central party will lead the issues, and we will create a party where the parliamentary and extra-parliamentary factions can collaborate." His specific pledges included △reorganizing the central party △establishing a party members' council △operating a party political school.

Both candidates Lee and Heo contributed to securing three seats in the National Assembly for the Reform New Party in the April 10 general election. The new party leader of the Reform New Party will be responsible for the 2026 local election strategy. Candidate Lee plans to place personnel appropriately through selection and concentration in the local elections, while candidate Heo plans to field candidates in all constituencies.

The Reform New Party will hold a joint speech meeting for the Seoul metropolitan area and Gangwon on the 19th, followed by the national convention on the same day to elect the party leader. The Reform New Party's party leader election will be conducted with 50% party member votes, 25% public opinion polls, and 25% university student and journalist evaluation panel votes.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.