[Fact Check] Is the Speaker of the National Assembly Always from the Largest Party in the General Election?

'Wrong Common Sense' in Politics Surrounding the Authority to Elect the Speaker of the National Assembly... During the 15th and 16th National Assembly, the Top 3 and 2 Parties in the Assembly Took the Speaker Position

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] It is commonly known in political circles that the Speaker of the National Assembly is held by the party with the largest number of seats in the general election. This is why parties fiercely compete to secure even one more seat.

In the 20th general election, the Democratic Party of Korea secured 123 seats, while the Saenuri Party obtained 122 seats. At that time, the Speaker of the National Assembly was Jeong Se-gyun from the Democratic Party. Sometimes, incorrect information becomes accepted as common sense in politics. The allocation of the Speaker position is a prime example. If one claims that the Speaker is 'always' the prerogative of the largest party in the assembly, this is not true.

This is because it is a product of political compromise and convention, not based on legal grounds. According to Article 15 of the National Assembly Act (Election of the Speaker and Deputy Speakers), the Speaker and Deputy Speakers are elected by secret ballot in the National Assembly and must receive a majority of the total members' votes to be elected. The key terms are 'secret ballot' and 'majority of total members' votes.' There is no provision in the National Assembly Act that assigns the Speaker to the largest party in the assembly.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

There have been cases where the Speaker was elected from a party other than the largest party in the assembly. This occurred during the election of the Speaker for the second half of the 15th National Assembly on August 3, 1998. At that time, the largest party was the Hannara Party. However, the Speaker was Park Jun-gyu from the third party, the United Liberal Democrats (ULD).

After three rounds of voting between Park and Oh Se-eung of the Hannara Party, the result was 149 votes to 139 votes. Park Jun-gyu’s election as Speaker was a joint effort between the second-largest party, the New Korea Party, and the third party, the ULD.

A similar event occurred during the election of the Speaker for the first half of the 16th National Assembly on June 5, 2000. In the 16th general election, the Hannara Party was the largest party, the Millennium Democratic Party was the second-largest, and the ULD was the third. However, this time, Lee Man-seop from the second-largest party, the Democratic Party, was elected Speaker.

In a face-off against Hannara Party’s Seo Cheong-won, Lee was elected Speaker with 140 votes to Seo’s 132 votes. Despite winning the 16th general election, the Hannara Party conceded the Speaker position.

Even if a party secures the largest number of seats in a general election, it is difficult to consider that it has guaranteed the Speaker position. The reason many Speakers come from the largest party is that political compromises are made during negotiations for the organization of the assembly, including the Speaker, Deputy Speakers, and standing committee chairs. When an assembly organization satisfactory to the opposing parties is achieved, the Speaker position is awarded to the largest party.

However, if the largest party does not hold an outright majority or if its status is threatened due to political dynamics, the Speaker position may go to the second or third largest party.

This means that the party producing the Speaker can change depending on the political negotiation process surrounding the assembly organization. Eom Kyung-young, director of the Era Spirit Research Institute, predicted, "Depending on the seat results of the parent party and satellite parties in the 21st general election, the party producing the Speaker may vary."

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