Gwangju Delimitation Committee Approves Adjustment Plan for Nam-gu and Gwangsan-gu Basic Councilor Constituencies

Higher Standard for Population Representation
Expansion of Nam-gu "Na" Constituency,
Readjustment of Gwangsan "Ga" and "Ma" Constituencies

The Gwangju City Constituency Delimitation Committee has finalized and submitted a plan to Gwangju City to adjust the basic councilor constituencies in Nam-gu and Gwangsan-gu ahead of next year’s local elections.

Gwangju City Hall. Provided by Gwangju City Hall

On December 1, the committee held its fourth meeting and decided to change the allocation criteria for the number of district councilors from the previous “50% population, 50% number of neighborhoods” to “60% population, 40% number of neighborhoods.” Based on this revised standard, the committee approved a new constituency plan. As a result of this change, in Nam-gu, the “Na” constituency will increase from three to four councilors, while the “Da” constituency will decrease from three to two councilors.

In the case of Gwangsan-gu, the current arrangement could have been maintained under the new criteria. However, due to significant population disparities, some committee members’ opinions were reflected, and Gwangsan-gu was included as a target for adjustment. Accordingly, the “Ga” constituency will be reduced from four to three councilors, while the “Ma” constituency will increase from three to four councilors. The “Ga” constituency has a population of approximately 76,000, and the “Ma” constituency has about 105,000, highlighting the need for an adjustment to ensure fair representation.

Additionally, the “Ra” constituency in Gwangsan-gu, which was operated as a pilot area for medium-sized constituencies in the 2022 local elections, will revert from three councilors to two.

This delimitation plan will only take effect if the Gwangju City Council amends the “Ordinance on the Number of District Councilors, etc.” between March and April next year. With this in mind, the committee adopted a special resolution stating, “The City Council should respect the plan prepared by the committee and enact the ordinance accordingly,” and added, “Amendments to the Public Official Election Act are also necessary to prevent the City Council from arbitrarily changing the number of councilors per constituency without special reasons.”

The committee also proposed the following: ▲Amending the Public Official Election Act to strengthen political diversity ▲Granting the committee the authority to designate pilot areas for medium-sized constituencies ▲Advancing the establishment of the committee to 12 months prior to local elections ▲Granting autonomy in determining the number of basic councilors.

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