Parties agree on electoral reform next month

Rep. Sim Sang-jeung, chairwoman of the political reform committee, speaks during a press conference on electoral reform at the National Assembly, Sunday. On Saturday, the main five political parties agreed to pass a related bill on the proportional representation system by January while the committee chief pledged to come up with the proposal this month. / Yonhap

By Park Ji-won

The five major political parties agreed to introduce a new proportional representation system by the end of January in a meeting of their floor leaders, Saturday.

The National Assembly Political Reform Committee welcomed their decision, with Chairwoman Rep. Sim Sang-jeung of the Justice Party pledging to come up with a related proposal this month.

In line with the decision, lawmakers from the three minor parties stopped their hunger strike and agreed to participate in drawing up the proposed bill.

After the meeting, the floor leaders of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) and three minor opposition parties said they had agreed to pass a bill on electoral reform in an extra session in January.

The agreement also said the five parties will follow a decision made by the Assembly committee regarding the number of proportional representatives, lawmakers and district councilors as well as their selection system.

Under a new system demanded by the minor parties, the number of seats for proportional representatives will be determined in proportion to the total number of votes a party's candidate wins in the general election.

A recent hypothetical result shows that if the proposed system was retrospectively applied to the last general election, the DPK, which currently has 129 seats, would have lost 19 seats while the LKP with 112 seats would have lost two seats. The Bareunmirae Party and the Party for Democracy and Peace, which have 30 and 14 seats, respectively, would have gained 39 more seats, while the Justice Party, with five seats, would have had 18 more seats.

The agreement came after the leaders of the three minor parties went on hunger strike calling for the introduction of a new proportional representation system that would be more favorable to smaller parties. The two largest parties had been reluctant to discuss it, preferring to stick with the present system.

“A panel under the political reform committee will be held three times a week to discuss the issue,” Sim told reporters during a press conference.

She also urged the parties to come up with their own measures and discuss it with the panel.

Sim said discussions will be focused on deciding the number of proportional representatives, the redrawing of single-member and multiple-member districts and an increase in the number of lawmakers.

Rep. Chung Dong-young, head of the minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace called for the addition of 60 lawmakers to tie the system to proportional support for the parties.

“What is key is not the increase in the number of lawmakers but making the Assembly represent the people's voice. The present 300 lawmakers only seek their vested interests.”

The reform panel will need to redraw constituencies by April, one year before the general election scheduled for April 2020. The national Assembly has 300 members serving four years, with 253 elected and 47 proportional representation seats.

President Moon Jae-in said Saturday he will support an electoral reform bill if the Assembly reaches a bipartisan agreement.

“If the National Assembly reaches an agreement, I will support it,” Moon was quoted as saying by presidential secretary Im Jong-seok, who visited two of the minor party leaders Saturday.

Regarding Moon's remarks, Sim said “I consider that Moon's remarks are his effort to support electoral reform.”