Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.
New election bill passed amid clashes
National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang announces the passage of a contentious election bill introducing a new proportional representation system at the National Assembly, Friday, as members of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party protest around Moon. Yonhap
By Park Ji-won
By Park Ji-won
The National Assembly passed a contentious election bill introducing a new proportional representation system amid fierce opposition from the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), Friday.
National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang announced that the National Assembly passed a revision bill on electoral reform proposed by Rep. Kim Kwan-young of the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party. Out of 167 present lawmakers, 156 lawmakers voted to pass the bill while 10 opposed it.
The bill outlines that the number of seats will be the same as last time: 253 seats from constituencies and 47 seats for proportional representatives in the 300-member National Assembly. However, what is different from the previous scheme is the proportion of proportional representation seats out of the 47 seats. Under the new rule, the number of proportional representative seats to be allocated will be capped at 30 under a mixed-member proportional (MMP) representation scheme, which will give seats to parties based on the percentage of their support ratings. This is considered a better option for popular minor parties with few seats.
Based on several recent polls, under the new rule the Justice Party would secure 15 seats, adding nine seats from the current number, while the DPK would add six seats and the LKP would lose three.
Currently, the DPK has 129 seats, while the LKP, the Bareunmirae Party and the Justice Party have 108, 28 and six seats, respectively.
Earlier, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), together with three minor parties ― the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party, the Party for Democracy and Peace and the Justice Party, plus a splinter group of lawmakers ― totaling 148 lawmakers and a majority of the Assembly, came up with the bill and agreed to pass it in Friday's plenary session which will be applied to the general election on April 15 next year.
The LKP, however, fiercely opposed the legislative activities, claiming the bills should be scrapped as they were drafted without the conservative main opposition's consensus.
Following a filibuster by the LKP between Monday and Wednesday to block the passage of the election bill and other bills, the LKP carried out some protests inside the Assembly to delay the plenary session, forming a circle around the desk of Speaker Moon to prevent him from reaching his seat.
The LKP intends to continue its protests, planning to ask for a suspension of the electoral bill, meaning that the law may not take effect immediately.
The original election bill was put on the fast track in April along with other contentious bills including on prosecution reform, without the participation of the LKP.
The previous single-member election rule has been changed about 60 times contributing to the development of the country's democracy. However, minor parties have been criticizing the rule because it created many “dead votes” as the two main parties are likely to win a majority and secure the most seats, which they claim aggravates the problems of political divisions based on regionalism.
The new election bill also lowers the voting age to 18 from 19, meaning about 560,000 additional citizens will have voting rights in the next election.
Meanwhile, the Assembly is pushing for tabling other bills including another fast-tracked bill on prosecution reform, which is also opposed by the LKP, and supplementary budget bills necessary for the 2020 budget to be processed before the end of the upcoming plenary session on Dec. 28.
The contentious bills include one on establishing an independent body for investigating corruption of high-ranking officials which has been pushed forward by the Moon Jae-in administration.
Lawmakers of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party hold placards opposing the passage of electoral and prosecution reform bills at the National Assembly, Friday. The election bill will allow minor parties with higher support rating to get more proportional representation seats and lower the voting age to 18 in the upcoming general election next year. Yonhap