The upcoming election for parliamentary speaker for the first half of the 22nd National Assembly is set to be a two-way race between the main opposition Democratic Party's(DP) six-term lawmaker-elect Choo Mi-ae and DP Rep. Woo Won-shik, who has secured his fifth term.

Sunday's talks between Choo and five-term Rep. Cho Jeong-sik on agreeing on a single candidate concluded with Cho announcing his resignation, and vowing to fulfill parliamentary reforms as requested by the public. Cho said he had decided to  respect the fact that Choo is older than himself.

Earlier, five-term Rep. Jung Sung-ho withdrew his bid, pledging to work harder toward achieving the DP's next presidential victory and change of administration.

Choo, Cho and Jung are all considered members of a political faction close to DP leader Lee Jae-myung.

Speaking to KBS, Woo said while he had been contacted by party leadership about agreeing on one single candidate, he had replied that he would run through to the end of a democratized election process. He said he had no plans to meet with Choo.

The DP, with the majority in the upcoming National Assembly, is set to hold a primary on Thursday to elect a candidate for parliamentary speaker, after which the appointment will be confirmed through a plenary vote.