The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) will hold a national convention on Sept. 18 to elect its new leaders, a member of the party's interim leadership said Wednesday.
"A preparation committee for the national convention decided to hold the convention on Sept. 18 at the KINTEX convention center in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province," Rep. Lee Mi-kyung, who belongs to the 11-member "emergency management committee," told reporters.
The party's former chairman, Chung Sye-kyun, and other ranking officials stepped down en masse on Monday, holding themselves partly responsible for the party's defeat in the July 28 parliamentary by-elections. The party secured only three of the eight seats that were up for grabs in the elections while its conservative rival Grand National Party won five.
After the resignation, the DP organized the committee that will control the party until a new leader is elected and decide on rules and other
details of the party election.
The committee led by DP floor leader Park Jie-won is composed of members who stay neutral between rival factions in the party.