Thae Yong Ho, a former North Korean diplomat and defector allied with South Korea’s conservative United Future Party (UFP), secured a seat in the Gangnam-A constituency parliamentary race on Wednesday, Thursday’s results showed.

Thae, who won 60,324 votes amounting to 58.4% of the total count, becomes the first high-level North Korean escapee elected to South Korean parliamentary office representing a district and not by proportional representation.

He is also the highest-ranking former North Korean official to have contested an election in the South.

The defector-politician first announced in Februaryhis decision to run in the 21st National Assembly election, which