After being elected during a party meeting, Cho stated, "We will complete the reorganization by June and pass all legislative tasks by December." He secured a majority in the first round of voting, defeating fellow five-term lawmakers Park Ji-won and Kim Tae-nyeon. For the first time, the Democratic Party introduced a voting system that combined in-person votes from lawmakers (80%) with online votes from party members (20%), although the specific vote percentages were not disclosed.
Before the election, Cho remarked, "I am a three-time candidate. This is my third and final attempt," urging members to support him as he has prepared extensively. He emphasized that the first half of the National Assembly was a historic moment that established the Lee Jae-myung government, and now he aims to create a productive National Assembly to support it. His key pledges include creating a people-centered National Assembly, completing constitutional reforms, enhancing the role and status of the National Assembly, and strengthening parliamentary diplomacy.
Political analysts suggest that Cho's election was influenced by support from President Lee Jae-myung. After Cho resigned from his position as Special Advisor for Political Affairs on May 3 to run for Speaker, President Lee expressed gratitude on Facebook, saying, "Thank you for your hard work and for always being there." On May 11, he shared a post from a netizen who ranked Cho first in the preference voting system that would influence the Speaker selection.
In response to speculation about President Lee's support for Cho, a Blue House official clarified, "This was merely an explanation of the preference voting system and not related to any specific candidate." The preference voting system allows voters who did not have their first choice make it to the runoff to have their second choice counted in the final decision.
Additionally, the Democratic Party nominated Nam In-soon, a four-term lawmaker, as the candidate for National Assembly Vice Speaker. Nam faced off against fellow four-term lawmaker Min Hong-cheol. After her election, Nam stated, "I will work with Speaker candidate Cho to complete legislation on livelihood issues and constitutional reforms."
Meanwhile, the People Power Party also selected Park Deok-heum, a four-term lawmaker, as its candidate for Vice Speaker earlier that morning. This completes the candidate lineup for the National Assembly leadership for the second half of the term. The Democratic Party plans to hold a plenary session on May 20 to vote on the election of the Speaker and Vice Speaker.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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