[Insight & Opinion] An Opposition Party Speaker and Separation-of-Powers Democracy

Speaker of the National Assembly Park Byeong-seok is protesting along with members of the People Power Party as he presented a partial amendment to the Prosecutors' Office Act, containing the 'Complete Separation of Prosecution and Investigation' (검수완박), at the plenary session of the National Assembly on April 27. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

The separation of powers among the legislative, executive, and judicial branches has long been abandoned in the reality of Korean politics. With political parties fully emerging in the political landscape, the status of members of the National Assembly has been reduced to mere affiliates of their parties, and a phenomenon has arisen where both the legislature and the government are simultaneously dominated by the majority party. The fundamental principles of representative democracy, namely the principle of popular representation and the principle of open debate as a decision-making process, have been ignored. The traditional function of the legislature to criticize and control the executive branch based on the separation of powers has effectively been neutralized.

Most Korean political parties have even given up on internal democracy, leading to a loss of expectations for both the National Assembly and political parties, which are core actors of democracy. However, the emergence of a Speaker of the National Assembly from the absolute majority opposition party offers a moment worth reflecting on. If the first major change in Korean politics this year was the regime change led by the People Power Party, the second change will be the election of a Speaker from the opposition party, which holds an absolute majority of seats but is affiliated with the Democratic Party of Korea. The classical separation of powers, where the legislature checks the executive branch?a concept previously seen only in constitutional textbooks?may now appear in the reality of Korean politics, a scene that both ruling and opposition parties and the public should pay close attention to.

Until now, the role of the Speaker of the National Assembly has often been more like the head of a ‘rubber-stamp legislature’ that merely passes laws as ordered, rather than the leader of the legislative branch. Much like a puppet Prime Minister stripped of constitutional authority and spirit. For the Democratic Party, which has fallen to the opposition after failing to retain power, it is a political mission and last bastion to lead the legislature, which holds an absolute majority, as a true guardian of the Constitution, the rule of law, public will, and the livelihood of the people. Therefore, selecting the Speaker of the National Assembly carefully is crucial.

Now, the Democratic Party must recognize the principle of majority rule in the legislature as aligning the will of the majority party with the common will of the state or the people. The struggle and compromise between parties should also be guided as an extension of the essence of representative democracy. The methods and organization of party and legislative operations evolve with the times and circumstances, and the collective will of parties in the National Assembly should be understood as a modern realization of representative democracy.

The reality of a party-state does not completely discard the principles of representative democracy. Through the direct personal trust relationship between candidates and their constituents, the political common will of parties and the people is connected. Moreover, parliamentary democracy plays a guarantor role in forming internal party democracy. The Democratic Party, which holds an absolute majority in the National Assembly, needs to be confident in normalizing party activities in the legislature while simultaneously strengthening the constitutional normative power of the separation of powers. Although an opposition party, it is hoped that by actively participating in legislative activities alongside the Speaker as a pillar of state governance, it will carry a sense of mission to implement the legislature’s constitutional role of checking the executive branch as requested by constitutional textbooks.

Currently, the self-esteem of the Korean National Assembly is very low, and many people trust it less than a ‘stranger’ they have never met before. Nevertheless, if the National Assembly is reformed and transformed into a trusted institution by the public, South Korea will gain unexpected new momentum, and many chronic ‘Korean diseases’ will be miraculously cured. In short, the emergence of a Speaker from the absolute majority opposition party is expected to become a transformative turning point in the history of Korean democracy and parliamentary reform, marking a ‘separation-of-powers democracy.’

Park Sang-chul, Professor, Graduate School of Political Studies, Kyonggi University