Assembly panel passes motion on increasing lawmakers to 300

Political parties on Monday passed a motion on increasing the number of parliamentary seats by one to 300 for the upcoming general elections.

The National Assembly's special committee on political reform passed the revision to the public office election law, whereby the seats will rise to 300 for the April 11 elections.

The change is pending approval at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly before it reaches the parliament floor.

The main opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) had pushed for the status quo at the National Assembly. But DUP Rep. Park Ki-choon, who serves on the committee, said earlier Monday the parties had tentatively agreed to the change and more discussions would follow.

Last week, the National Election Commission suggested that the number of seats be set at 300.

One seat each will be added to three electoral districts: Paju, Gyeonggi Province; Wonju, Gangwon Province, and Sejong City, a new administrative town. Two seats in South Gyeongsang and South Jeolla provinces in southern part of the country will be removed, following the merging of electoral districts there. (Yonhap)