S. Korea’s Ruling Party to Accept All Pro-Park Lawmakers

South Korea's ruling party Thursday decided to unconditionally accept all lawmakers loyal to its influential ex-chairwoman, giving the party an increased number of seats.

Ending a three-month dispute, the conservative Grand National Party (GNP) decided to reinstate about 30 supporters of former Chairwoman Park Geun-hye, most of whom bolted from the party amid an uproar over the nomination of candidates for the April 9 parliamentary elections.

Many Park loyalists had lost tickets to run in the elections to mainstream party members who belonged to a larger faction led by President Lee Myung-bak.

The rift between the two factions has threatened the embattled party's internal unity since last year.

"We decided to unconditionally accept all pro-Park lawmakers," Yonhap News quoted GNP Chairman Park Hee-tae as saying after a supreme members' meeting Thursday. "I truly hope that the word 'faction' will disappear from the party via today's decision."

The ruling party, which secured a slim majority of 153 seats in the 299-member unicameral legislature in April, would command a maximum of 183 seats should all the Park loyalists join the ruling party.

The GNP's Supreme Council also decided to take back three pro-Park legislators who are currently under prosecution investigation over alleged election irregularities, Park said, adding they will be dealt with by the party rules if the prosecution finds them guilty.

In the July 3 national convention, three of President Lee's loyalists, including the new chairman, were elected to the GNP's decision-making council.

Park Geun-hye, who boasts considerable political influence over the country's right-wingers as the eldest daughter of late President Park Chung-hee, has been an in-house rival of President Lee since she lost the presidential nomination race last year.