[The Editors' Verdict]The Gold Badge: The Issue Is Not the Number, but the Color

Lee Kyung-ho, Issue Team 2 Leader

Han Dong-hoon, the Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, proposed reducing the number of National Assembly members from the current 300 to 250, cutting 50 seats, setting their salaries to the median income level, and significantly reducing their privileges. He suggested lowering the annual salary of National Assembly members from the current 156.9 million KRW to about 70 million KRW, a reduction of approximately 80 million KRW.

The salaries of National Assembly members are usually determined by the National Assembly Secretariat based on civil servant pay scales, with the budget drafted accordingly and handled by the National Assembly's Steering Committee. This year's salary increase rate is 1.7%, which is lower than the civil servants' pay raise rate of 2.5%. National Assembly members receive "sebi" (tax expenses), meaning compensation from tax funds rather than wages as payment for labor. It takes time to legally codify the remuneration and treatment regulations for National Assembly members.

Among Chairman Han's three political reforms, two (salary reduction and relinquishment of privileges) can be implemented immediately. Members can return their sebi, but there is no regulation in the National Assembly Secretariat regarding returns; instead, they can make donations. Relinquishing privileges can be done either at the party or individual level by refraining from using privilege cards in various protocols, including immunity from arrest, airport and railway use, and other ceremonial privileges. The staff members, up to nine per member, can also be limited by simply not employing the full nine before changing National Assembly regulations. Although it sounds simple, these are practically difficult issues that could cause major disruptions in legislative activities.

Reducing the number of National Assembly members is another matter. In the past, former President Moon Jae-in mentioned expanding to 400 members when he was the leader of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, and Hong Joon-pyo, former Daegu mayor and leader of the Liberty Korea Party, proposed abolishing proportional representation and reducing the number to 200. These proposals disappeared after repeated controversies without proper public discourse. This is why Chairman Han's proposal to reduce the number to 250 has faced criticism as populism. The question of whether the number of assembly members is too many or too few cannot be answered simply. It varies depending on each country's circumstances. It also depends on whether the country has a bicameral system (upper and lower houses) like the United States, Japan, Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, or a unicameral system like Korea, Turkey, and Sweden.

The badge of a National Assembly member includes the character "Guk" (國), meaning "nation." It is called a gold badge. Gold is scarce but durable and does not rust, which is why it has historically served as a substitute for currency. Reducing the 300 gold badges to 250 increases representativeness and the value of scarcity. Half of local governments face the risk of disappearing due to aging and low birth rates. In the past, two or three electoral districts were merged into one, and the pace of consolidation may accelerate in the future. Although the population is decreasing, legislative demand is increasing. The citizens to be represented are diversifying and becoming more varied, including elderly policies in the super-aged era, the economically active 40s and 50s, the MZ generation, future generations, socially vulnerable groups, foreign workers, and sexual minorities. Minor parties and civic groups have persistently demanded an increase in the number of assembly members.

Reducing salaries and abolishing privileges require bipartisan agreement, but adjusting the number of members needs social consensus. It would be good to proceed in line with the schedule for the completion of the National Assembly Sejong Office Building around 2031. The Sejong Office Building should not repeat the Yeouido model, which is distant from the people and seems to dominate them, starting from its design. The framework should be changed, and the contents inside (whether the number of members or the abolition of privileges) should be changed together. The Swedish National Assembly members, often cited as our eternal role model, are known for having a heavy workload. They have no privileges because they believe privileges could influence the direction of the country. They say, "National Assembly members are professionals representing citizens and the realities they live in. We are just ordinary citizens too." This shows where the starting point of political reform lies.

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