Rep. Sim Sang-jeung was elected the new floor leader of the troubled Unified Progressive Party.

The former labor activist was one of the party’s four co-chairs and is a leading figure in the reformist group that took control of the party leadership in the wake of a vote-rigging scandal involving the far-left faction.

<YONHAP PHOTO-1232> 통합진보당 원내대표로 선출된 심상정 (서울=연합뉴스) 이지은 기자 = 통합진보당 원내대표로 선출된 심상정 의원이 10일 오후 서울 여의도 국회 정론관에서 기자회견을 하고 있다. 2012.7.10 jieunlee@yna.co.kr/2012-07-10 16:56:51/ <저작권자 ⓒ 1980-2012 ㈜연합뉴스. 무단 전재 재배포 금지.> Rep. Sim Sang-jeung addresses a news conference Tuesday after being elected the new floor leader of the Unified Progressive Party. Yonhap News
통합진보당 원내대표로 선출된 심상정 (서울=연합뉴스) 이지은 기자 = 통합진보당 원내대표로 선출된 심상정 의원이 10일 오후 서울 여의도 국회 정론관에서 기자회견을 하고 있다. 2012.7.10 jieunlee@yna.co.kr/2012-07-10 16:56:51/ <저작권자 ⓒ 1980-2012 ㈜연합뉴스. 무단 전재 재배포 금지.> Rep. Sim Sang-jeung addresses a news conference Tuesday after being elected the new floor leader of the Unified Progressive Party. Yonhap News

Rep. Sim Sang-jeung addresses a news conference Tuesday after being elected the new floor leader of the Unified Progressive Party. (Yonhap News)

“Rep. Sim was recommended as a single candidate and elected unanimously by party lawmakers attending the meeting,” said Lee Jeong-mi, spokesperson of the party’s decision-making body.

Seven out of its 11 lawmakers participated in the vote. The rest belonging to the former mainstream group boycotted the meeting.

Last month the party’s disciplinary committee urged Reps. Lee Seog-gi and Kim Jae-yeon to quit the party for their roles in election fraud in March. They refused the demand.

An online vote is currently under way to elect the UPP’s new chairperson and the Supreme Council.

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldm.com)


koreaherald@heraldcorp.com