Six-term lawmaker Cho Jeong-sik elected new Nat'l Assembly speaker

SEOUL, June 5 (Yonhap) -- The National Assembly voted Friday to elect Rep. Cho Jeong-sik of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) as the new parliamentary speaker.

Rep. Cho, a six-term lawmaker, won 267 out of 276 votes cast during a parliamentary plenary session and will serve as speaker for the second half of the 22nd National Assembly until May 2028.

He was named a party candidate for speaker after winning a majority vote in the party's internal election last month.

In the 300-member assembly, the DP currently holds 161 seats, while the main opposition People Power Party holds 110.

Rep. Cho Jeong-sik, a six-term lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party, delivers a speech during a general meeting of party lawmakers at the National Assembly in Seoul in this May 13, 2026, file photo. (Yonhap)