Kim Byung-min: "Will Legislate Limit of Four Consecutive Terms for Lawmakers... Grateful to Yoon Gun-young for Proposing the Bill"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Kim Byung-min, chairman of the Future United Party's Policy Platform Revision Special Committee, announced plans to legislate the policy of 'limiting National Assembly members to four consecutive terms' included in the party platform. He also expressed gratitude to Yoon Gun-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who had previously proposed similar legislation.

On the 14th, Kim appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and stated, "The discussion was triggered as many first-term lawmakers expressed their commitment to political reform and to voluntarily relinquishing vested interests."

Kim revealed that within the party, there is ongoing discussion about introducing a system that limits four consecutive terms without exceptions such as proportional representation or constituency changes. A representative case is Governor Won Hee-ryong of Jeju, who is mentioned as a potential opposition presidential candidate.

Kim said, "Governor Won also ended his position after three terms as a lawmaker, went abroad briefly, and then returned as a local government head. This kind of cycle can create a virtuous structure in our National Assembly and political sphere," adding, "I proposed limiting four consecutive terms to prevent excessive concentration of power in one person within a specific region." He also stated that the policy would not be applied retroactively and that current members would be considered as serving their first term.

The Future United Party plans to push for the legislation of this policy. Kim said, "The party platform includes a ban on four consecutive terms for National Assembly members and various other political reform tasks, and it explicitly states that these will be legislated," adding, "We will take the lead in legislating the parts that can be legislated and pledge the necessary parts as campaign promises in upcoming elections during the process of gaining power."

He also hinted at cooperation with the ruling party. Kim said, "As media reports came out, there was considerable interest within the party and some negative public opinion, but Yoon introduced the bill," adding, "I want to express my gratitude to Representative Yoon and am very pleased. If the ruling and opposition parties join hands to amend the National Assembly Act, it will be a much more meaningful advancement."

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