Another ruling party lawmaker has decided not to run in the April parliamentary elections to allow a fresh start for the embattled conservatives.

Rep. Park Jin, a three-term lawmaker from the key Seoul constituency of Jongno, said Friday that he will not seek a fourth term.

“To pull the party out of a crisis, I give up all my vested rights,” the 55-year-old politician said during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul. “I’ll sacrifice myself to bring about real change and reform the GNP.” 

The Oxford-educated politician first entered politics as press secretary to former President Kim Young-sam, who served from 1993-1998. The diplomat-turned-lawmaker is an expert in foreign affairs and diplomacy, especially in the issue of inter-Korean relations.

He joined a group of GNP lawmakers who decided not to seek another parliamentary term. They include first-term Reps. Jungwook Hong, Chang Je-won and Hyun Ki-hwan, as well as Rep. Lee Sang-deuk, six-term lawmaker and brother of President Lee Myung-bak. All have expressed hopes that their decision will help the party’s efforts to rebuild itself and regain the confidence of voters.

The GNP has been beset by a series of by-election defeats, corruption scandals and a devastating allegation that its officials were involved in a cyber attack against the national election watchdog during the Oct. 26 Seoul mayoral by-election.

Its recently picked chief Rep. Park Geun-hye said she would adopt a set of strict guidelines in screening the party’s candidates for the April election, while seeking to bring in fresh faces.

By Lee Sun-young (milaya@heraldcorp.com)