SEOUL, April 25 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's ruling Saenuri Party chief publicly apologized Wednesday for scandals that forced two lawmakers-elect to leave the conservative party recently.

Interim Saenuri leader Park Geun-hye said she feels"deeply sorry" for failing to examine the two candidates before nominating them.

The apology came after Kim Hyung-tae, a former journalist who won a parliamentary seat in a district in the southern city of Pohang in April general elections wholesale monster energy hats, quit the party over allegations that he attempted to rape his sister-in-law 10 years ago.

Moon Dae-sung, a gold medalist in Taekwondo who won a seat in a district in Busan, also left the party over allegations he plagiarized a large chunk of his doctoral thesis.

The scandals tarnished the ruling party's upset victory in parliamentary elections, which boosted Park's presidential prospects as the December presidential election nears.

With the departure of two would-be lawmakers, the ruling party is left with 150 seats in the 300-member parliament.