National Assembly's Full Committee, Is This the End?... "Let's Form a Subcommittee to Create a Consensus Proposal"

"Suggestions Including Separate Subcommittee Formation and Following Public Opinion"
Discussion on Follow-up Measures for the Election System After the Full Committee Meeting

The National Assembly plenary committee on electoral system reform, which was to be applied in next year's general election for members of the National Assembly, concluded without results after four days of intense debate. However, lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties proposed follow-up measures, ranging from forming a public deliberation committee to entrust the electoral system, to reforming the electoral system but applying it from the subsequent general election to minimize backlash.

As 100 members of the National Assembly proposed ways to improve the electoral system, voices calling to continue the plenary committee's purpose poured out.

Lee Eun-ju, floor leader of the Justice Party, said on the last day of the plenary committee held at the National Assembly plenary chamber on the 13th, "After today, I propose creating a subcommittee that can gather opinions from each party and lawmaker to derive a consensus that fully reflects public sentiment and continue discussions in the plenary committee." She requested, "Please pool wisdom and will so that the subcommittee, which broadly represents citizens and enables politics of dialogue and compromise, can achieve even a small step forward in electoral system reform during this National Assembly."

Song Gap-seok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "One of the biggest achievements of the plenary committee was sharing in detail the problems of the current electoral system and understanding what alternatives can be chosen." He added, "With public distrust of the committee as high as it is now, electoral law revision cannot be done by the National Assembly's momentum alone. The public deliberation committee being prepared by the National Assembly's Political Reform Special Committee is truly important. We should wait for the results of public deliberation and seriously reflect them in the electoral law revision."

Lee Sang-min, a Democratic Party lawmaker, standing in the National Assembly plenary chamber, argued, "If the plenary committee could not reach a conclusion, I think it is appropriate to form a public deliberation committee composed of external members, set a draft, and have discussions to reach a conclusion."

Lee So-young, a Democratic Party lawmaker, proposed a separate subcommittee. She said, "Even after the plenary committee ends, a subcommittee must be formed to reach consensus on issues such as the crisis of local extinction and changes to increase public trust in the proportional representation system."

Lawmakers fiercely debated ways to continue discussions on electoral district reform. Jo Eun-hee, a member of the People Power Party, expressed concern, saying, "Although the plenary committee was held for the first time in about 20 years, it seems it will just end with a flood of diverse opinions without intense debate or sincere efforts to reach consensus." Jo also spent time introducing a proposal to replace the proportional representation system with a regional representation system, consisting of 300 members representing population and regions.

On the 13th, a plenary committee meeting was held at the National Assembly for the review of the resolution on the improvement of the electoral system for the 4th session of the 405th National Assembly (extraordinary session). Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Lee Won-wook, a Democratic Party lawmaker, mentioned an electoral system reform plan acceptable to both the public and lawmakers, advocating for accepting a 10% reduction in the number of lawmakers while persuading to allow revisions such as regional proportional representation or large electoral districts. Lee proposed, "Let's revise the electoral law to be applied in 2028, the 23rd National Assembly, to increase lawmakers' acceptance."

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