The National Assembly opened its inaugural session on Monday and elected a six-term lawmaker of the ruling Saenuri Party as the new parliamentary speaker.

In a secret ballot held during the plenary session, Rep. Kang Chang-hee earned 195 votes among 283 eligible voters to serve as the chief of the 19th National Assembly for the first half of its four-year term.

The 66-year-old Kang had served in the military in the 1970s and entered politics in 1980. He is known as the key aide to Rep. Park Geun-hye, a solid presidential candidate in the conservative camp.

Kang automatically became an independent lawmaker as the current law requires a parliamentary speaker to drop his or her party affiliation, reducing the number of ruling party’s seats to 149 in the 300-member parliament.

Soon after, Rep. Lee Byung-suk of the Saenuri Party and Rep.Park Byeong-seug of the main opposition Democratic United Party were elected as the new vice speakers for the next two years.

Under a bipartisan agreement, the post of National Assembly speaker usually goes to the majority party, with the ruling and main opposition parties sharing the two posts of vice speaker.

Addressing the inaugural session, President Lee Myung-bak asked the National Assembly on Monday to set aside partisan interests and work more closely with the government to get over the looming global economic crisis and other challenges South Korea faces.

Lee stressed the eurozone debt crisis and the pro-democracy movement blowing from the Arab world to Asia suggest a new world order is emerging and South Korea should be better prepared for such changes.

“Under these grave circumstances, the government and the National Assembly are charged with the responsibilities of advancing the country toward the future while relieving the anxieties of the people and addressing pending issues,” Lee said during the address. 

(Yonhap News)