Three opposition lawmakers quit their party on Thursday, dealing another blow to the opposition in the disarray following a high-profile departure of its former co-chairman.
  

Reps. Moon Byung-ho, Yoo Sung-yop, and Hwang Ju-hong said they are leaving the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy to reorganize the opposition bloc.
  

"I will walk down the path of victory and to reunify the opposition bloc by leaving the NPAD," Moon said in a news conference at the National Assembly.
  

The departure lowers the number of seats held by the opposition party in the 300-member parliament from 126 to 123.
  

The move came four days after Ahn Cheol-soo, who co-led the NPAD last year, announced his departure following internal strife with incumbent Chairman Moon Jae-in.
  

Ahn had called for Moon's resignation and party reform following the NPAD's crushing defeat in the parliamentary by-elections in April. He left the party when negotiations with Moon over a leadership change fell through.
  

The three also voiced concerns about the party ahead of the general elections slated for next April, saying that the incumbent chairman is not showing any sign of change in order to overhaul the embattled party.
  

A stream of similar desertions from the NPAD is expected with some assuming up to 20 NPAD lawmakers may follow suit by the end of this year.
  

Ahn, the founder of the nation's largest anti-virus software firm Ahnlab Co., co-founded the NPAD with former Chairman Kim Han-gil and Moon, after merging the main opposition Democratic Party and his supporters. (Yonhap)