Ruling and Opposition Parties Fail to Agree on Large Constituency System... Final Negotiation at Meeting of Two Party Floor Leaders

On the 31st, Disagreements Over Multi-Member District System for Basic Councilors and Adjustment of Metropolitan Councilors

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 31st, the ruling and opposition parties failed to reach an agreement on the introduction of a large electoral district system for basic councils and the adjustment of the number of metropolitan council members. The Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party decided to settle the issue through a meeting between the floor leaders of both parties by the 1st of next month.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, Cho Hae-jin, a secretary from the People Power Party, told reporters after the meeting, "The floor leaders of both parties agreed to meet within today or tomorrow to reach a conclusion, whether by agreeing on one of the options or by creating another option through political compromise."

Kim Young-bae, a secretary from the Democratic Party, also explained, "Both sides initially agreed to do their best until the plenary session on April 5th, and we have confirmed this again. Whether the People Power Party will accept the large electoral district system for basic council members, accept it partially, or to what extent the metropolitan council district reorganization will follow the policy of responding to the era of local extinction, the floor leaders need to decide on the combination of basic and metropolitan councils."

The Democratic Party has been advocating for the introduction of a 'large electoral district system with at least three basic council members' for the June 1 local elections, but the People Power Party opposes this.

Rep. Cho said, "Whether to accept the large electoral district system or not, or to accept it in a limited way, has been consistently opposed as I have mentioned before. If the new Democratic Party floor leader meets with our floor leader and finds another breakthrough, that would be a third option." He added, "Currently, the most likely outcome seems to be a gloomy conclusion where the efforts of the past two to three months go to waste."

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