The two remaining defectors of the ruling Saenuri Party completed the process of returning to the party on Wednesday, raising its seats in the National Assembly to 129.

The party has therefore regained No. 1 parliamentary group status, although it still falls short of the majority in the 300-member Assembly.
Reps. Joo Ho-young and Lee Chul-gyu, who represent the constituencies in Daegu and Gangwon respectively, applied for the party’s membership, a week after its leadership decided to accept all defectors back.

Seven had defected upon being dropped from nomination ahead of the April 13 general election. Five of them, including former floor leader Rep. Yoo Seong-min from Daegu, returned soon upon the decision.

All the returning lawmakers had been considered a part of the faction that rivals those loyal to President Park Geun-hye. They had all protested their drop from nomination.

The decision, reached through a vote by the party’s emergency committee acting as the interim leadership, had renewed the party’s festering factional competition as some of the pro-Park members protested.

The party, however, was widely expected sooner or later to bring back the defectors, who won in their constituencies as independents, as it suffered a defeat to the main opposition The Minjoo Party of Korea with 122 seats to its 123 seats.

The returned lawmakers are to keep each of their positions in the standing parliamentary committees as they were assigned as independents.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)