The ruling Saenuri Party announced Thursday that it would let elected defectors return to the party, allowing its total seats in the National Assembly to outnumber the main opposition party.

The interim leadership reached the much-debated decision to allow back seven lawmakers who were elected as independents. Among them is former party whip Rep. Yoo Seong-min.

Upon the decision, Yoo along with Reps. Yoon Sang-hyun, Kang Ghil-boo and Ahn Sang-soo immediately filed a request to return to the party. Reps. Joo Ho-young, Lee Chul-gyu and Chang Je-won did not immediately react.

With this move, the Saenuri Party has a total of 126 seats, four more than The Minjoo Party of Korea’s 122, making them the No. 1 party in the 300-member National Assembly.

“In order to better reflect the people’s decision in the last general election, the Saenuri leadership decided to approve the former members’ return to the party,” said Saenuri Party spokesperson Rep. Ji Sang-wuk. “We hope that the decision will become a starting point to overhaul the party.”

Although the independents had consistently publicized their wish to return to the party before and after the election, the party had been split among factions on whether to take them back. The defectors had mostly left the party after having failed to win their party nomination mainly due to factional competition or personal scandals.

The contentious issue was settled by a secret vote of the party’s emergency committee. The formal leadership is to be elected this August. Six of 11 committee members approved of the defectors’ return.

The fate of the defectors has roiled the ruling party since its crushing election defeat in April.

At the center of the debate was Yoo, who left his post after clashing with President Park, who denounced him for “betraying” her. Casting himself as a moderate conservative, the four-term lawmaker vowed to return to the party after being elected as an independent

“I am deeply grateful for the party’s decision,” said the four-term lawmaker. “Now that I have returned home, I will do my utmost as a party member to fulfill the people’s call for bringing reform and unity to the party,” he said.

By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)