'Leadership on the chopping block' Kim Gi-hyeon, will the 'reduction in number of lawmakers' card work?

Approval Ratings Decline Within a Month of Launch
Controversies Involving Kim Jaewon and Jo Sujin
"Exercising Party Leader Authority"... Strong Response Expected

Kim Gi-hyeon, the leader of the People Power Party, has pulled out the "reduction of the number of National Assembly members" card ahead of the full committee meeting on the revision of the election law scheduled for the 10th. This is interpreted as an attempt to turn the tide amid worsening public opinion and a continued decline in party approval ratings following a series of controversies involving party leaders, including Kim Jae-won, the party's senior supreme council member.

At the supreme council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 6th, Kim said, "We can reduce the number of National Assembly members by at least 30 seats," adding, "In a situation where trust in the National Assembly is not being restored, proposing to reform the election system without even relinquishing privileges to regain trust is, I believe, disrespectful to the people."

Kim suggested reconsidering the appropriate number of members, stating that the current 300 seats are not absolute. He explained, "According to a public opinion poll conducted last month, 57% responded that the number of members should be reduced, and even if the total budget for salaries is frozen, nearly 71% responded that the number should not be increased. In other polls, 69.3% responded that the number of members should be reduced, while only 9.0% and 8.6% respectively thought it should be increased."

Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, along with the party leadership, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 6th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Kim's remarks on reducing the number of members appear to be a strategic move to reverse the party's declining approval ratings since the launch of the new leadership. The 'Kim Gi-hyeon leadership,' elected at the party convention on the 8th of last month, has seen a continued decline in approval ratings just one month after its inauguration. Until just before the party convention last month, the so-called 'convention effect' had caused a rebound in party approval ratings, but they have been on a downward trend since then.

According to a public opinion poll released by Realmeter on the 3rd (confidence level 95%, margin of error ±2.0 percentage points, detailed information available on the National Election Commission website), the People Power Party's approval rating was 37.1% (March 27?31), down 7.2 percentage points from 44.3% just before the party convention (February 27?March 3). Meanwhile, the Democratic Party's approval rating rose 6.4 percentage points from 40.7% to 47.1% during the same period.

This comes as Kim Jae-won, the senior supreme council member, has faced public backlash due to a series of controversies since last month, and Cho Soo-jin, another supreme council member, has been criticized for failing to present proper policy alternatives, mentioning "eating a full bowl of rice" as an alternative to the amendment of the Grain Management Act.

For this reason, Kim Gi-hyeon announced a tough response to inappropriate remarks on the day. Kim emphasized, "Even if we put all our efforts into winning next year's general election, it will not be easy," adding, "From now on, if anyone damages the party's image or embarrasses party members, regardless of their position, I will exercise the party leader's authority more strictly." He continued, "We will promptly form the party's Ethics Committee and assign penalty points during future qualification evaluations for cases that cause controversy due to speech or behavior that goes against public sentiment."

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