[Politics X-File] Why Being a 10-Term Member of the National Assembly Is a Dream Territory

⑨ Kim Young-sam, Kim Jong-pil, Park Joon-kyu, 9 Terms Are the Most Ever
The Longest-Serving in the 21st National Assembly Is 6-Term Lawmaker Park Byeong-seok
10 Terms Possible Only by Being Elected Continuously for 40 Years

Editor's Note"Political X-Files" is a series that delivers the "unprecedented stories" recorded in the election results and incidents of Korean politics.

Serving ten terms as a member of the National Assembly is an uncharted summit. It is a dream realm that no politician in the history of the Republic of Korea has ever achieved. Although theoretically possible, serving ten terms is nearly impossible in reality. Why have even those called political masters of level 8 or 9 failed to become ten-term National Assembly members?

Korean politics is ever-changing. It is not an environment where a political boss can maintain power for decades. Compared to the past, the likelihood of multi-term lawmakers emerging has decreased.

In fact, the longest-serving member of the 21st National Assembly is Park Byeong-seok, a six-term lawmaker from the Democratic Party representing Daejeon Seo-gu Gap and former Speaker of the National Assembly. While there is no law preventing him from running again, politicians who have served as Speaker often proceed toward retirement.

There are currently twelve five-term lawmakers, including the current Speaker Kim Jin-pyo. Theoretically, if they continue to be elected for the next 20 years, reaching ten terms is possible. The problem is that biologically and politically, this is highly unlikely.

Speaker of the National Assembly Park Byeong-seok is attending the museum opening ceremony held at the National Assembly on April 11, 2022, delivering a commemorative speech. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Speaker Kim Jin-pyo is 75 years old this year and will be 76 at next year’s general election. His candidacy for the next election is uncertain, but even if he runs, considering his age, achieving ten terms is impossible. Among the five-term lawmakers, Cho Kyung-tae of the People Power Party is the youngest at 55 years old.

However, there is no guarantee that politician Cho Kyung-tae’s current status will last for the next 20 years. Unlike in the past, when politicians could build seniority as proportional representatives, now they must accumulate seniority by winning in local constituencies, which is a disadvantage.

This is why there is a forecast that a ten-term National Assembly member may never appear. Theoretically, if one becomes a lawmaker at 30, they must continue as a lawmaker until 70. If they become a lawmaker at 40, they must continue until 80. If they become a lawmaker at 50, they must continue until 90.

Not a single defeat is allowed, and they must continuously run and win elections for 40 years.

Former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok is answering questions from student panelists at a special lecture titled "Asking the Path of Conservatism," hosted by the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy's "New Conservatism in Korea" on the afternoon of December 22, 2022, at the Jeonggyeong Building, Korea University, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. [Image source=Yonhap News]

This is not an easy challenge. Lee Jun-seok, a former leader of the People Power Party, is 37 years old. He will be 38 at next year’s general election. Even Lee Jun-seok, who is considered one of the youngest politicians to have reached the highest positions in politics, has never been elected as a National Assembly member.

Winning a seat in the National Assembly is not as easy as it sounds. The assumption that one can be elected continuously for 40 years starting at age 30 is detached from reality.

This is also connected to political history. The record for the most terms served in Korean politics is nine. Former President Kim Young-sam, former Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil, and former Speaker Park Jun-gyu all reached nine terms. All of them have passed away.

Former President Kim Young-sam became a lawmaker in his twenties and lived his life as a politician. He was a political leader who experienced the turbulent modern history of Korea firsthand. Considering political capability, leadership, and regional representation, it is questionable whether political leaders like Kim Young-sam or Kim Dae-jung will emerge again.

During the so-called "Three Kims era," political bosses did not worry about their nomination. They could decide whether to run as proportional representatives, local constituency candidates, or to not run at all. Unless a politician had influence within the party like Kim Young-sam or Kim Dae-jung, every politician must worry about nominations.

President Kim Young-sam waves his hand to the attendees before leaving the venue after his inauguration ceremony on February 25, 1993.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Politicians who were promising in their 30s and 40s often face waves of generational change after aging and accumulating seniority. Even if they want to continue as lawmakers, the political atmosphere forces them to be cautious.

The 22nd general election in April next year is also expected to bring strong winds of generational change. The main targets are multi-term lawmakers who have served long in specific regions. They may be urged not to run or forced to run in difficult constituencies. Otherwise, they will proceed toward political retirement.

Only by overcoming the recurring waves of generational change at every general election can they have a chance to accumulate seniority.

Multi-term lawmakers also have hidden cards. They appeal to voters by saying that if elected "just one more time," they can serve as Speaker or Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. The logic that electing a big figure benefits the region is also a common argument among multi-term lawmakers.

How many of the current five- or six-term lawmakers will receive nominations for next year’s general election? How many of them will enjoy the joy of victory? Even if they join the ranks of the elected, the road to the ten-term summit is long. Four years later, eight years later, they will again face pressure from generational change.

The uncharted summit that politicians like Kim Young-sam or Kim Jong-pil never reached. Is a ten-term National Assembly member a goal achievable only in dreams?