South Korea's ruling Grand National Party is holding its national convention Monday to elect a chairperson and members of its supreme council.

The Yonhap news agency says seven candidates are competing for four council member positions. It says all seven are in their late 40s and early 50s.

The report says there have been calls for a young leader to steer the struggling party through next April's general elections. The party had a poor showing in by-elections earlier this year.

Yonhap quotes analysts as saying the ruling party could lose many of the 171 seats that it has in the 299-member national assembly unless it turns voter sentiment around.

The election of the new party leadership will be based on votes from a 210,000-member electoral college and the outcome of a two-day telephone survey of 3,000 people. The results will be announced during Monday's convention.

The party's new chairperson will be declared after a day-long nationwide vote is completed.