Jo Jung-sik, Six-Term Lawmaker, Elected as 22nd National Assembly Speaker: "Will Create a Livelihood-Focused Parliament with the Lee Administration"

Nam Insoon Elected as Vice Speaker; Park Deokheum Chosen by the Opposition

Jo Jung-sik, a six-term member of the Democratic Party of Korea, has been elected as the Speaker for the second half of the 22nd National Assembly.

On May 13, the Democratic Party held a general meeting at the National Assembly, during which a vote was conducted for the position of Speaker. The party announced that Assemblyman Jo secured a majority in the first round of voting.

Jo Jung-sik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who is running for the position of Speaker in the second half of the 22nd National Assembly, is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily. 2026.5.7 Photo by Hyunmin Kim

Born in Seoul in 1963, Jo graduated from Dongsung High School and earned a bachelor's degree in Architectural Engineering and a master's degree in Urban and Local Administration from Yonsei University. He began his legislative career after being elected in the 2004 17th general election for Siheung-eul, Gyeonggi Province, and has been elected consecutively for six terms through the 22nd National Assembly. He has held major positions such as Chair of the Gyeonggi Provincial Party, Chair of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, Policy Committee Chair, and Secretary General. In December of last year, he was appointed as Special Political Advisor to the President, playing a bridging role between Democratic Party lawmakers and the Blue House.

In his acceptance speech, Jo stated, "Just as the revolution of light overcame darkness and led to the normalization of the Republic of Korea, I will make the National Assembly in the second half worthy of a great transformation of the country," adding, "I will take to heart every single vote entrusted to me by party members and lawmakers."

He continued, "The Republic of Korea now stands at the center of a tremendous era of transformation. Faced with epochal challenges such as the artificial intelligence (AI) revolution, the reorganization of the international order, the demographic cliff, the climate crisis, and the technological supremacy war, the National Assembly must now take the lead in shaping the future."

Jo also said, "Together with the highly effective Lee Jae-myung administration, the National Assembly will take responsibility," vowing, "We will surely establish a National Assembly dedicated to improving people's livelihoods and opening the future of the Republic of Korea." He stressed the goal of completing the formation of parliamentary committees by June and enacting all legislative national policy tasks within this year.

He further stated, "By working closely and cooperatively with Representative Jeong Cheong-rae and Floor Leader Han Byung-do, we will create a National Assembly that delivers results and works with a sense of speed."

This Speaker election was a three-way race between Park Ji-won (five-term), Jo Jung-sik (six-term), and Kim Tae-nyeon (five-term), in order of ballot numbers, but Jo, the most senior, was elected. Nam In-soon secured a majority of votes to become the National Assembly Vice Speaker from the ruling party. Previously, from the opposition, Park Deok-heum was elected as Vice Speaker.

Nam stated, "In the second half of the National Assembly, together with Assemblyman Jo, I will vigorously push forward constitutional amendments, livelihood legislation, and reform tasks," adding, "Above all, I will work hard for victory in the upcoming local elections."

The Democratic Party selected its final candidate by combining the results of a rights party member vote (20%) conducted on May 11-12 and the lawmakers' vote (80%) on this day. This is the first time that a rights party member vote has been introduced in the process of selecting a National Assembly Speaker candidate.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.