Winning 5,287 votes in total, Chung got 2,896, or 46.8 percent, of the public opinion poll points, 1,031 more than Park, but fell short of 1,873 votes in balloting by delegates. This put Chung on the list of Supreme Council members, along with lawmakers Huh Tae-yeol (3,284 votes), Gong Sung-jin (2,589 votes), and Park Soon-ja (891 votes).

Newly-elected Grand National Party chairman Park Hee-tae holds up a bouquet of flowers at the party's convention at the Olympic Gymnastics Gymnasium in Seoul on Thursday. /Newsis

In fact, lawmaker Kim Seong-jo came in fifth with 2,454 votes, far more than Park Soon-ja, but a party regulation that requires at least one place on the Supreme Council be assigned to a female lawmaker delivered the seat to Park Soon-ja.

In his acceptance speech, Park Hee-tae said that he will work to build trust between the party and the public by serving with a modest, humble mind. "I will listen hard to the public and do my best to get what they want reflected in the government's policies, so that the public can trust our party," he said.

President Lee Myung-bak and former GNP chairwoman Park Geun-hye attended the convention. President Lee said in his congratulatory address that he will successfully carry out his duties as president by rising wisely and bravely to the challenges he is facing -- domestic instability where law and order are disregarded, and the deteriorating global economy. He added that it is time for everyone to devote themselves to reviving the economy.

(englishnews@chosun.com )