TAIPEI, June 14 -- Hung Hsiu-chu, the incumbent Kuomintang (KMT) chairwoman, announced on Wednesday that she would step down as party chief by the end of June to guarantee a smooth transition within the party.

At Wednesday's meeting of the KMT Central Standing Committee, Hung said KMT Vice Chairman Lin Junq-tzer will hold the post of acting chairman from July 1 to Aug. 20, when Wu Den-yih is scheduled to take office as the party chief.

Hung was elected as the KMT's first female leader in March 2016, but lost the KMT chairmanship election last month to Wu, who won the election on May 20 by garnering more than 52 percent of all valid votes.