Limit of Three Consecutive Terms for National Assembly Members... Need for Two-Term Limit for Mayors and District Heads

Changwoo Lee, Mayor of Dongjak-gu, Seoul, Emphasizes That Local Leaders Can Fully Achieve Their Promises Within Two Terms (8 Years) and Firmly Decides Not to Run in the 8th Election, Proposing the Need for a Two-Term Limit for Local Leaders... Positive Evaluations of Legislative Activities by Former Mayors Seonghwan Kim (Now Seoul Nowon-gu), Youngbae Kim (Seongbuk-gu), and Hyungbae Min (Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju)... Calls for a Three-Term Limit for District Council Members Also Arise

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] “Members of the National Assembly and city (province) and district council members should be limited to three terms, while heads of local governments such as special/metropolitan mayors, provincial governors, mayors, county governors, and district heads should be limited to two terms.”

The Democratic Party’s Party Innovation Committee requested on the 12th a limit of no more than three consecutive terms for members of the National Assembly representing the same constituency as part of political reform. They also proposed limiting immunity and protection from arrest.

As public consensus on these opinions is expected to grow, attention is being drawn to the emerging view that metropolitan heads (Seoul Special Mayor, metropolitan mayors, provincial governors) and basic local government heads (mayors, county governors, district heads) should be limited to two terms.

Among Seoul’s district heads, Lee Chang-woo, the Dongjak District Head, stated that “two terms (8 years) as a local government head is enough time to fully realize one’s pledges, so is a third term really necessary?” and announced his intention not to run in the 8th direct election scheduled for June 1, which is likely to strengthen this public opinion.

In particular, since Seoul has many district heads serving three or four terms, this voice is expected to grow louder.

Politicians such as Kim Sung-hwan, former two-term Nowon District Head, Kim Young-bae, former two-term Seongbuk District Head, and Min Hyung-bae, former two-term Gwangsan District Head, who advanced to the National Assembly after serving two terms as local government heads, are evaluated as successful legislators.

Among Seoul’s local government heads, if the three-term limit for National Assembly members is applied, some may choose not to run for district head in this local election and instead consider running in the next general election.

Compared to National Assembly members, district council members, and city council members, basic and metropolitan local government heads, who hold strong powers such as project execution authority and personnel authority, are seeing calls from the field for a two-term limit or less.

A Seoul city official also said, “In the case of local government heads, due to the three-term limit rule, once a district head reaches a third term, they cannot run again, which may lead to a lax attitude,” adding, “From this perspective, it is necessary to change the regulation to a two-term limit for local government heads.”

Especially for district council members, due to the multi-member district system where one member from each party is elected, it is possible to serve from four to nine terms as long as they receive party nomination, so there is a claim that a three-term limit is necessary along with National Assembly and city council members.

A Seoul autonomous district official A said, “For district council members, since one member from each party is elected and they can run without term limits as long as they get nominated, this could cause other problems in terms of bringing in new figures,” emphasizing the need to establish a three-term consecutive limit regulation for district council members along with National Assembly and city council members.

If this happens, there is a prospect that the political culture could change due to personnel replacement, and attention is focused on whether the National Assembly will be able to legislate accordingly.

Another Seoul city official B said, “It remains to be seen whether National Assembly members will be able to put a noose around themselves.”

On the other hand, a representative from the Korea Institute for Local Autonomy Development said, “In Seoul, there are many district heads serving three to four terms, but in other regions, there are not many local government heads who have served three terms,” and argued for maintaining the current three-term limit, saying, “Local government heads need to serve up to three terms to fulfill their pledges.”

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