Independent lawmaker Hong Joon-pyo, the main conservative party's presidential candidate in 2017, has rejoined the People Power Party(PPP).

The PPP's Supreme Council on Thursday approved Hong's return, after which party leader Lee Jun-seok confirmed the decision was unanimous.

Hong had left the Unified Future Party(UFP), the predecessor to the PPP, in March 2020, after he failed to obtain party nomination in the district of his choice in the general elections the following month.

His return follows similar moves by Reps. Kweon Seong-dong and Kim Tae-ho, both of whom also had left the party prior to the general elections along with Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun, who remains an independent.

With Hong's return, the PPP now holds 103 parliamentary seats.