Three-term lawmaker Jeong Jeom-sig was elected Wednesday to become the main opposition People Power Party’s floor leader.
Jeong won the three-way race against four-term lawmaker Rep. Kim Do-eup and three-term lawmaker Rep. Sung Il-jong at a general assembly of opposition party lawmakers at the National Assembly.
In the final round of the election, where Jeong and Kim were shortlisted, Jeong beat Kim in a 55-48 vote.
Jeong is widely considered to be aligned with the party’s chair Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok, a loyalist to ousted President Yoon Suk-yeol. The new floor leader said he would focus on restoring trust in the party, which has suffered defeats in major elections for three years running, including last week’s local elections.
He also said that no conflict within the party would be tolerated under his leadership.
“We must all unite as one for the people and the party,” Jeong said in his acceptance speech.
“There can be no factions, no division, or no conflict between us. Only the People Power Party exists to uphold the will of the people. I will never be swayed by the voices of any specific faction.”
A different scenario may have unfolded had Kim won the election. Kim has said he was open to independent Rep. Han Dong-hoon’s return to the party. Han, an estranged former chair of the People Power Party, has been at odds with incumbent Chair Jang.
Jeong is a prosecutor-turned-lawmaker who entered politics in 2019 through a parliamentary by-election. He represents a constituency comprising Tongyeong and Goseong in South Gyeongsang Province.
Effective immediately, the newly elected floor leader will serve a one-year term, succeeding Rep. Song Eon-seog. Before the election, Jeong served as the chief of policy at the People Power Party.
The People Power Party holds 110 parliamentary seats out of 300 in the National Assembly.
Jeong’s election opens the way for talks between the People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea to determine who to assign to National Assembly committees, who will chair parliamentary committees, and how many lawmakers from each party will be assigned to each committee.
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