Expansion of Assembly Seats 'Off the Table'?… Kim Jin-pyo Proposes "310-Seat Compromise"

Discussion on Expanding the Number of Assembly Members Ultimately at the Full Committee
Kim Jin-pyo Proposes Increasing Proportional Representation vs. Cho Kyung-tae Calls for Abolition

The National Assembly's Special Committee on Political Reform (Jeonggae Special Committee) has decided to approve an electoral system reform plan centered on 'maintaining the current number of seats' amid public backlash against expanding the number of lawmakers. However, since the electoral reform plan will be actively discussed through a heated debate at the plenary committee meeting scheduled for the 27th, the expansion of the number of lawmakers is not entirely off the table. Speaker Kim Jin-pyo also proposed a compromise plan to increase the number of seats by 10, significantly reduced from the initially suggested 50-seat expansion.

Speaker of the National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo is delivering a greeting at the 1st National Issues Grand Debate "How to Reform the Pension System" held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul on the 21st. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the 22nd, Speaker Kim said on CBS's "Kim Hyun-jung's News Show," "Increasing the number of lawmakers is difficult because political distrust toward the National Assembly reaches 81%, so I think it can only be done within a minimal range (10 seats) if at all," adding, "The advisory committee's proposal to increase by 50 members is a difficult idea."

Initially, the advisory committee directly under Speaker Kim proposed an electoral reform plan centered on increasing the number of lawmakers by 50, and the Jeonggae Special Committee subcommittee approved submitting this plan to the plenary committee. However, the People Power Party opposed expanding the number of lawmakers, and the Democratic Party of Korea took a passive stance, causing the plan to fizzle out. The Jeonggae Special Committee held a full meeting that afternoon and decided to submit an electoral reform plan maintaining the current 300 seats to the plenary committee.

However, this does not mean that the expansion of the number of lawmakers is completely off the table. The Jeonggae Special Committee subcommittee and full meeting are merely procedural, as substantive opinion gathering will be conducted at the plenary committee, where all 299 lawmakers gather. The National Assembly plans to discuss the electoral reform plan, including the expansion of the number of lawmakers, through several heated debates over about two weeks starting from the 27th.

Speaker Kim's proposal to increase the number of lawmakers by only 10 is also against this backdrop. He said, "What if we reduce the number of (constituency) seats a bit under the single-member district system?" adding, "Since we need to increase proportional representation, if we reduce about 10 seats from the constituencies and the ruling and opposition parties agree, we can say to the public, 'We reduced 10 seats, so please allow us to increase 10 seats,' which would allow for a minimal increase in proportional representation."

Of course, since the plenary committee includes all lawmakers, completely opposing opinions can also be discussed. A representative example is the proposal by People Power Party lawmaker Cho Kyung-tae to reduce the number of National Assembly members by 100. Unlike Speaker Kim, who emphasizes expanding proportional representation in electoral reform, Cho is vocally advocating for abolishing proportional representation.

People Power Party leadership candidate Jo Kyung-tae is expressing his thoughts after completing his registration as a party leader candidate at the central party office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 2nd. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

On the same day, Cho said on KBS's "Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs," "Proportional representation was introduced under the pretext of representing specific positions, but how can women or youth be considered positions?" he criticized, "How can Yoon Mi-hyang, a proportional representative lawmaker, be said to represent a position? What position does she represent?"

He continued, "If proportional representation (47 seats) is abolished and a multi-member district system is introduced, reducing the number of lawmakers by 20 to 30% accordingly, we can roughly reduce about 80 to 90 seats," and raised his voice, "Just as the German parliament recently reduced 100 seats, we also need a reform plan to drastically reduce the number of lawmakers."