Mixed-Member Proportional Representation Was Useless...Criticism Follows Over Giant Two-Party Division

Satellite Parties of Democratic and United Party's Trick... Securing Majority of Proportional Seats
De Facto Failure of Semi-Linked Proportional Representation System
Citizens Criticize "Erosion of Democratic Meaning"
Civic Groups File Constitutional Complaint Against Election Commission's Approval of Proportional Candidate Registration as Unconstitutional
Experts: "Minor Parties Weak in Influence, Lack of Candidates"

On the 16th, the day after the 21st National Assembly election, staff from Ewha-dong Community Service Center are removing election posters on Daehak-ro street in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] In the 21st general election, the semi-proportional representation system, a key issue in last year's election law revision, was applied for the first time. The mixed-member proportional representation system was introduced with the intention of allowing small parties to gain seats proportional to the support they receive from the public, but there are criticisms that it practically did not function. In response, criticism has continued from the political circles and various civic groups, and there has also been strong criticism against the National Election Commission, which approved the system.

As of 6:22 a.m. on the 16th, with a counting rate of 92.66% for proportional representation, out of the total 47 proportional seats, the Future Korea Party secured 19 seats, the Together Citizens' Party 17 seats, the Justice Party 5 seats, the People's Party 3 seats, and the Open Democratic Party 3 seats.

This shows a different pattern compared to the 20th National Assembly's proportional seats: Saenuri Party 17 seats, Democratic Party 13 seats, People's Party 13 seats, and Justice Party 4 seats.

The mixed-member proportional representation system applied to the proportional party vote in this general election is a system that determines the number of National Assembly seats according to the party's vote share. It was implemented for the first time this year to eliminate the malpractice where major parties monopolized far more National Assembly seats than their party vote share.

Earlier, the National Election Commission (Chairman Kwon Soon-il, Supreme Court Justice) approved the registration of the Future Korea Party on February 13, the registration of the Party for the Citizens on March 16, and the name change to the Together Citizens' Party on March 25, citing that "registration applications from parties meeting formal requirements cannot be rejected."

On the 27th of last month, the Election Commission received and accepted the proportional representation candidate registration applications from the Future Korea Party, a satellite party of the United Future Party running in the April 15 general election, and the Together Citizens' Party, a satellite party of the Democratic Party.

On the 7th, officials from the Yeongdeungpo Election Commission in Seoul are inspecting the ballot papers for the 21st general election.
Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

However, criticism has emerged that the original purpose was distorted as the two major parties, the Democratic Party and the United Future Party, each created satellite parties, the Citizens' Party and the Korea Party, respectively.

In response, the Democratic Party announced plans to merge with the satellite party Citizens' Party after the general election. On the 14th, Choi Bae-geun, co-chairman of the Citizens' Party's election committee, appeared on a radio broadcast and said, "After the election, small parties will be returned to their original parties, and the rest will merge with the Democratic Party."

The United Future Party and the Korea Party also adopted a resolution to merge after the general election.

However, criticism has also come from within the political circles regarding the creation of satellite parties by the two major parties. Sim Sang-jung, leader of the Justice Party, appeared on YTN radio that day and criticized, "The election reform has been distorted into a cunning unconstitutional party scheme by the two major parties, which will remain a blot in the history of democracy."

The Minsaeng Party also filed a constitutional complaint on the 13th, two days before the April 15 general election, requesting the cancellation of the registration of proportional satellite parties.

At a press conference that day, the Minsaeng Party stated, "We have filed a constitutional complaint requesting the cancellation of the Election Commission's decision to approve the registration of the Citizens' Party and the Korea Party," and added, "The Citizens' Party and the Korea Party are merely satellite parties that the two major parties created to secure proportional seats against each other, lacking the concept and symbols of a political party." They further argued, "The Democratic Party and the United Future Party are aware of the unconstitutionality and illegality of these satellite parties but organize and operate them for party interests, so the establishment and activities of such parties constitute an abuse of rights."

On the afternoon of the 7th, Park Jeong-eun, Secretary General of the People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, explained the purpose of the petition at a press conference held in front of the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul, regarding the "Constitutional complaint requesting the cancellation of the National Election Commission's approval of the satellite party proportional representation list." Photo by Yonhap News

The People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy also filed a constitutional complaint on the 7th requesting the cancellation of the registration of proportional representation candidates for the satellite parties Citizens' Party and Korea Party of the two major parties in the 21st general election.

On that day, the People's Solidarity held a press conference in front of the Constitutional Court in Jongno-gu, Seoul, stating, "The Election Commission's acceptance of the proportional representation candidate registrations of the Korea Party and the Citizens' Party is fundamentally invalid and an unconstitutional disposition that infringes on voting rights and freedom of expression."

As a result, criticism has also continued among citizens, with comments such as "The true meaning of democracy has been diminished" and "Isn't this just a partisan fight after all?"

A 29-year-old office worker A said, "Looking at the counting results, although many proportional parties were registered, the two major parties took all the proportional seats," and raised his voice, "The mixed-member proportional system was introduced to eliminate such problems, but small parties lost even the opportunity to enter."

He added, "In the end, this general election was a partisan fight between the two major parties," and "In the next election, an election law that guarantees clear proportionality will be necessary."

Meanwhile, criticism against the Election Commission, which approved the satellite parties, is also ongoing. One citizen pointed out, "The Election Commission, which should protect the meaning of democracy, has instead given a landslide vote to vested interests," and said, "I think the Election Commission bears great responsibility."

Experts pointed out that small parties have weak party power and lack personnel. Political commentator Kim Gap-soo appeared on KBS 1TV's 'Sasa Geongeon' on the 23rd of last month and said, "The election reform aimed to create opportunities for various voices from civil society to enter the National Assembly, but small parties were too weak and lacked personnel, so it did not function properly."

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