[Change the Election]⑪ "200 National Assembly Members Are Appropriate"…Confession of a Veteran Incumbent

"Internationalization Era, Need to Align with Political Regionalization Trend"
Examining the National Assembly Situation from the Perspective of a Four-Term Veteran
Emphasizing the Need for Expert Leadership to Exclude Entrenched Interests

"Based on my long experience in the National Assembly, there is no need to allocate as many as 30 members to a single standing committee like the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee. Since the conclusion is the same whether there are 20 or 15 members, a total of about 200 members in the Assembly is appropriate."

Lee Myung-soo, a member of the People Power Party and part of the National Assembly's 'Bipartisan Political Reform Lawmakers' Group,' recently said this in an interview with Asia Economy, emphasizing the need to attempt a large multi-member district system as a political reform measure. Lee is a four-term veteran lawmaker who has been consecutively elected from the 18th to the 21st National Assembly since 2008.

Lee pointed out that with the increase and simplification of communication methods, there is no longer a need to adopt a single-member district system. He stressed the importance of linking with local councilors who already communicate at the dong (neighborhood), myeon (township), and eup (town) levels. Lee explained, "There is only one mayor or district office chief, but having three or four members of the National Assembly in one area causes more confusion and communication problems. Therefore, it is necessary to enlarge the units."

Lee Myung-soo, Member of the People Power Party. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The large multi-member district system that Lee advocates is strictly a 'mixed urban-rural type.' It applies the large multi-member district system in cities while maintaining the current single-member district system in rural areas. Lee said, "Looking at local areas, many counties are already grouped in threes or fours, so even if it is a single-member district system, it is practically similar to a large multi-member district system. However, if counties are grouped into as many as ten through regionalization, it could cause problems in representing the area, so this must be considered."

He also emphasized that to prevent wasted votes, the large multi-member district system should be adopted with several conditions, such as limiting the number of candidates nominated by the two major parties. Lee said, "No single party should be allowed to nominate more than two-thirds of the candidates." For example, in a district with three seats, if the Democratic Party nominates three candidates in Honam or the People Power Party nominates three candidates in Yeongnam, one party could sweep all three seats. Therefore, only one candidate per party should be nominated. Lee said, "In a single-member district system, if someone wins with 51%, the other 49% counts for nothing, but in a large multi-member district system, multiple candidates can be elected. This allows our party to win in Honam and the Democratic Party to win in Yeongnam, naturally overcoming regionalism."

Lee argued that if the large multi-member district system is introduced, the number of National Assembly members should be reduced from the current 300 to 200. He explained, "If three members were elected from three single-member districts, they can be combined and reduced to two members."

Lee Myung-soo, Member of the People Power Party. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Regarding proposals from some political circles, including National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo, to freeze or reduce the total amount of salaries and personnel expenses as the number of members increases, Lee criticized this as a 'trick.' He said, "The goal is not to reduce the budget, but if the number of members decreases, the total amount of salaries and personnel expenses will also decrease. If lawmakers properly perform the legislative activities that the public desires, it wouldn't matter if there were 1,000 members. However, since expectations are not being met, criticisms arise, and there is no need to maintain this number of members."

Regarding electoral district reform, Lee believes that experts should take the lead rather than the National Assembly, emphasizing the importance of 'excluding vested interests.' He said, "Lawmakers inevitably focus on their own election prospects when a particular electoral system is adopted," and added, "Even if complete exclusion of vested interests is difficult, I hope it is done properly from a zero-base perspective." He continued, "Neutral experts outside the political sphere without political bias should gather to create reasonable alternatives, and the National Assembly should only make the final choice. What I really worry about is that when nothing is decided, the decision might be made only by the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, party leaders, and floor leaders, which must not happen," he stressed.