[Park Jong-il Autonomous News] Three-Term Limit for National Assembly Members... Is a Two-Term Limit Possible for District Mayors?

Open Democratic Party proposes a 3-term limit for National Assembly members in the 21st general election, and the United Future Party is expected to adopt a 3-term limit for district seats; attention focuses on whether a 2-term limit for elected local heads like district chiefs will emerge in the upcoming 8th local elections in 2 years.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] In the political sphere, voices are gradually growing to limit local constituency members of the National Assembly to only three terms.

Following the Open Democratic Party's pledge in the April general election this year to limit National Assembly members to three terms, the United Future Party is actively considering political reform policies such as the 'ban on serving more than three terms as a National Assembly member' and is expected to announce them around the 10th.

This is because there has long been a question of fairness about how elected officials like district heads and mayors are limited to three terms, while National Assembly members face no such restrictions despite being elected officials, leading to a growing consensus.

Laws are made by National Assembly members.

For this reason, National Assembly members have long granted themselves unlimited leniency(?) while imposing the shackles of a three-term limit on potential rivals in the regions, such as district heads and mayors.

However, times have changed, and laws and customs that cannot convince the public are inevitably reaching their end.

Reflecting this trend, following the Open Democratic Party, the United Future Party?which is operating a special committee to transform its image from a 'conservative hardliner'?is finally expected to introduce the card banning local constituency National Assembly members from running for more than three terms as part of its political reform efforts.

This move is expected to receive applause from the public.

The ruling Democratic Party is also unlikely to reject this proposal starting from the 22nd general election.

A political insider said, "Does it make sense to say that local heads become corrupt after serving more than three terms, but National Assembly members do not become corrupt even if they continue indefinitely?" and welcomed the introduction of the ban on running for more than three terms as a National Assembly member, saying, "It's fortunate that this card has finally come out."

This seems to imply the need to circulate political talents in an era where times change by the second.

In fact, local and metropolitan government heads such as district heads have long been dissatisfied with the three-term limit rule. They argued that it was unfair to impose such shackles only on local heads while National Assembly members did not create such rules for themselves.

Such voices were difficult to accept not only for local heads but also for the general public.

However, it is true that there are many calls to reduce the three-term limit for local and metropolitan government heads to about two terms.

A Seoul city council member said, "Serving three terms as a district head means serving for 12 years, which is also too long."

An official from a Seoul autonomous district analyzed, "For district heads, two terms seem appropriate because 5 to 6 years is enough to implement their pledges."

It is said that district heads inevitably fall into complacency once elected for a third term.

A Seoul city official also said, "In the case of district heads, most have fulfilled their pledges after two terms (8 years), but if elected for a third term, what innovative policies could they push forward other than just finishing their term without major issues?"

It is said that district heads inevitably fall into complacency once elected for a third term.

The local elections are less than two years away.

It is hoped that the political sphere will come together and promise a two-term limit for elected local heads such as district heads from the 8th local elections as part of political innovation.