Assemblyman Sobyeongcheol Urges Restoration of Distorted Electoral District in Haeryongmyeon

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker So Byeong-cheol (Suncheon·Gwangyang·Gokseong·Gurye (Gap)) strongly urged the strengthening of regional representation and the normalization of the Suncheon electoral district through electoral system reform at the National Assembly's plenary committee on electoral system reform held on the 11th.

As a member of the National Assembly representing a mixed urban-rural area in Jeollanam-do, Rep. So drew significant attention by appealing to prevent local extinction and to realize constitutional values.

[Photo by So Byeong-cheol]

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Rep. So stated, “The reason for reforming the system is to change reality for the better,” warning, “If the electoral system takes the population concentration in the metropolitan area as a given, local extinction will deepen further.” He proposed, “If we want to stop local extinction, we need to change the current ‘electoral district delineation criteria centered on population’ by either allowing exceptions to population standards in rural areas or considering weighted factors proportional to area.”

According to data from the Special Committee on Political Reform, if the current population ratio limit of 1:2 is applied as is, in the next general election, the number of National Assembly members from Seoul, the metropolitan area, and metropolitan cities will account for as much as 70% of the total constituency members.

Although the Public Official Election Act specifies ‘regional representation of farming and fishing villages’ as a criterion for electoral district delineation, Rep. So argued that the principle of ‘reflecting regional representation’ has become virtually obsolete due to the uniform population-based regulations that do not consider the realities of rural areas.

Furthermore, Rep. So presented to the National Assembly members the distorted division of Haeryong-myeon in Suncheon City and urged adherence to the consistent principle under the Public Official Election Act of ‘prohibiting the division of one city.’

Suncheon City was initially expected to be ‘divided into districts,’ but during the National Assembly discussions, an additional proviso of ‘special district’ as an ‘exception to the exception’ was added, which he pointed out as a serious infringement on the political rights of residents.

Rep. So expressed, “How desperate must it be that even the Suncheon City Council unanimously passed a ‘Resolution to Urge Normalization of the National Assembly Electoral District,’ and residents of Haeryong-myeon are visiting the National Assembly in protest?” He emphasized, “Arbitrary electoral district delineation against the will of the sovereign local residents is unconstitutional.”

He also noted, “Suncheon now ranks first in population in Jeollanam-do and has risen to the third-largest city in Honam after Gwangju and Jeonju, so naturally, the electoral district should be divided.” He earnestly appealed, “Please ensure the normalization of Suncheon’s electoral district in the National Assembly’s discussions on the electoral system and districts. Please resolve the anger and suffering of nearly 280,000 Suncheon citizens.”

He also urged Park Chan-jin, Secretary General of the Central Election Commission, and Song Bong-seop, Chairman of the National Assembly Electoral District Delimitation Committee, who attended the meeting, to work hard for the normalization of the Suncheon electoral district.

Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Heo Seon-sik hss79@asiae.co.kr

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