Hong Joon-pyo, the former chief of the conservative ruling party, made a comeback to the political scene by winning a by-election for the governor of South Gyeongsang Province, an exit poll showed Wednesday.

Hong of the ruling Saenuri Party became the sure winner by garnering 60.9 percent, far exceeding Kwon Young-gil, a liberal-leaning candidate with no party affiliation, with 39.1 percent, according to the exit poll by the nation's three major broadcasters released shortly after the voting ended at 6 p.m. The margin of error was plus or minus 0.8 percentage point.

The governor post has been vacant after former governor Kim Doo-gwan left in July to run for president. Kim of the main opposition Democratic United Party, however, failed to win the party's presidential nomination.

The 58-year-old Hong vowed to crack down on corruption and establish a task force team to develop the local economy by bringing in a flurry of new investment, including a new airport project and a nano-tech industrial complex. He also vowed to set up a team of professionals in economy and budget to effectively work with the central government.

Born in the southeastern city of Changnyeong, the prosecutor-turned-lawmaker lost the April general election for a Seoul electorate, which came as a surprise as the big name had won four consecutive races in the capital city.

Hong was elected the chief of then ruling Grand National Party in July of last year, but he was forced to step down from the post with mounting pressure from party members to reshape the beleaguered party following a series of scandals and a Seoul mayoral election defeat. (Yonhap News)