[Deputy Director Column] The Meaning of 'Proportional Representation' and 'Political Parties'

Kwon Soon-il, Chairman of the Central Election Commission, is presiding over a plenary meeting discussing the allowance of proportional party names at the Central Election Commission in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province on the 13th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] 'As the quantity or number on one side increases, the quantity or number related to the other side also increases.' This is the dictionary definition of the word 'biryul' (proportional representation).

The National Election Commission (NEC) stated that it is "difficult to view the word as containing any value such as a party's policy or political belief." The NEC had to make a linguistic judgment because 'biryul' became one of the hottest issues in this general election.

Since the number of constituency seats is much larger than proportional seats, and only the candidate who ranks first is elected, a large number of 'wasted votes'?votes excluded from deciding representatives?have occurred. Also, there have been cases where a party's support rate was high but the number of seats did not follow accordingly. This is the background for the introduction of the semi-linked proportional representation system, which passed the National Assembly after great difficulty.

Now, for major parties like the Democratic Party of Korea or the Liberty Korea Party, which can elect many candidates in constituencies, even if their party vote rate is high, they can only take a very small portion of the proportional seats. This is because some degree of party vote rate must be guaranteed to other minor parties. This is the essence of the new election system.

Therefore, the Liberty Korea Party outright announced the creation of a separate proportional satellite party to gather votes, called 'Biryul Liberty Korea Party'. The NEC's logic is clear: do not use a word without inherent value solely for the purpose of a specific party. They also pointed out that "a so-called halo effect, where the party nominating constituency candidates is perceived as the same party, may appear."

The 'halo effect' is exactly the strategy that the Liberty Korea Party has openly promoted, and the NEC has directly confronted it. Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the Liberty Korea Party, said, "There is an old saying that a clever move must be used against a trick," and is pushing for the creation of the proportional satellite party. At least according to the NEC's judgment, this too was a 'trick.'

"A political party is a voluntary organization of the people whose purpose is to participate in the formation of the people's political will by promoting responsible political claims or policies for the benefit of the people and by recommending or supporting candidates for public office." This is the meaning of 'political party' as specified in the Political Parties Act. Public opinion on the NEC's decision to prohibit the use of the name 'biryul' (proportional) is more than half in favor. It is read as the public sentiment that founding a party as a 'means' is inappropriate. A political party is an organization that pursues values.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.