Yang Jung-kyu, 79, chairman of the Republic of Korea Parliamentary Society and former six-term lawmaker, passed away late on Wednesday. He had been suffering from a chronic illness.

Born in Jeju in 1933, Yang joined officialdom as a secretary to the prime minister in 1964 and moved into politics by winning a seat in the 7th National Assembly in 1967.

He went on to serve in the 9th, 12th, 14th, 15th and 16th parliaments.

In between and even after his parliamentary terms, Yang was known to be an influential senior figure in the political arena.

He worked as the floor leader of a group of independent lawmakers under the dictatorial rule of the late President Park Chung-hee. In the early 1980s, he served as the floor leader of the second largest opposition party under the authoritarian regime of President Chun Doo-hwan.

Yang served as chairman of the Korean Boxing Commission and vice president of the World Boxing Association from 1977-1985.

In 2009, the senior ex-lawmaker was elected the 16th chairman of the ROKPS, a fraternity of senior lawmakers, and later won re-election.

Yang’s funeral ceremony is to be held at Sinchon Severance Hospital at 9:30 a.m. Saturday.

Survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter, he will be buried near his hometown in Jeju.

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