[Politics X-File] Somehow Shrinking Shoulders of the National Assembly's 'Jjeom-o' Members

⑫'Mid-term Entered Lawmakers' with Less Than 4-Year Terms
Some Proportional Representation Successor Lawmakers Serve Only 4 Months
Ranking Lawmakers by Seniority... 'Jjeom-o' Lawmakers Are Ambiguous

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

There is an invisible hierarchy among members of the National Assembly. Not all members of the National Assembly are the same.

The easiest measure of hierarchy is the number of times they have experienced legislative activities, that is, their seniority.

"Back in my day..."

It's not only society that has "kkondae" (old-fashioned, bossy) characters. In the National Assembly, there are also those who voluntarily take on the role of teachers based on extensive experience. These are the multi-term members with rich legislative careers.

Members who have long experience as chairpersons of standing committees have a distinctive voice even within the committee. When the current chairperson fails to conduct meetings smoothly, these veteran members naturally step in as mentors.

"When I was the chairperson of the standing committee 10 years ago, the relationship between the ruling and opposition parties was..."

The appearance of the National Assembly building. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Even the current chairperson finds it difficult to completely ignore the long speeches of such experienced members. Ignoring the advice of political seniors is considered rude, given the political atmosphere in Yeouido.

There are also powerful figures who disrupt the seniority based on experience. These are the so-called presidential candidates and faction leaders. Faction leaders often have many terms, but presidential candidates do not necessarily.

Former President Moon Jae-in ended his legislative career as a first-term member. Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party currently running for the 2027 presidential election, is also a first-term member. Oh Se-hoon, the Mayor of Seoul and a leading presidential candidate from the ruling party, likewise has only first-term legislative experience.

Although they are all first-term members, the speeches of presidential candidates in the National Assembly carry a different weight.

Then, do multi-term members receive treatment corresponding to their seniority? Generally yes, but not always. This is due to the existence of so-called "jjeom-o" members. Even if they become second-term members after being "jjeom-o," they sometimes receive different treatment from other second-term members. They are treated more like 1.5-term members rather than full second-term members.

"Jjeom-o" members feel somewhat intimidated even among first-term members. There is an unspoken gaze that not all first-term members are the same...

Who are the "jjeom-o" members? They are those treated as 0.7-term, 0.5-term, or 0.3-term members. They are members who have experienced shorter terms than other National Assembly members.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Typically, first-term members enter the National Assembly through general elections and serve a four-year term. The first year of the term is often chaotic due to lack of experience, but as they progress through the second, third, and fourth years, they gain considerable seniority. Although not as much as second-term members, their accumulated experience allows them to show the demeanor of seasoned politicians.

However, members who enter mid-term through by-elections serve shorter terms than the full four years (at most three years). Among first-term members, they rank lower when measured by experience.

Still, members who enter the Assembly through by-elections have their say. They are winners who were elected by the people through constituency elections.

Those who feel even more intimidated than members entering through by-elections are proportional representation members, especially those who enter by succession.

Proportional representation succession members usually replace current National Assembly members (proportional representatives) who resign due to appointments as ministers or other public offices, or who run for other elections such as education superintendent or governor.

Jeong Eun-hye succeeded as a proportional representation member in October 2019 following Lee Soo-hyuk's appointment as ambassador to the United States. At that time, she attracted attention as the youngest Democratic Party member at age 36. Since the general election was scheduled for April 2020, her proportional representation term lasted only about six months.

In August 2015, Jang Jeong-eun of the Saenuri Party entered the Assembly by succeeding a proportional representation seat. She replaced former member Kim Hyun-sook, who resigned after being appointed as the Blue House Senior Secretary for Employment and Welfare. Since the 20th general election was scheduled for April 2016, Jang Jeong-eun's proportional representation term was also less than a year.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

So, were politicians Jeong Eun-hye and Jang Jeong-eun's terms the shortest?

There is a proportional representation succession member with a four-month term. Heo Yoon-jung joined the 20th National Assembly in January 2020 as the last member. When Kim Sung-soo, then a proportional representation member, resigned after being appointed as the new Prime Minister's Chief of Staff, the opportunity went to Heo Yoon-jung.

Theoretically, there might be proportional representation succession members with even shorter terms than Heo Yoon-jung. At first glance, this seems plausible, but the revised Public Official Election Act makes such cases unlikely.

This is due to Article 200, Paragraph 3 of the Public Official Election Act, which states that "If the party that nominated the candidate to succeed the seat is dissolved or if a vacancy occurs within 120 days before the expiration of the term, the successor shall not be determined."

In other words, if the proportional representation succession deadline is passed, the seat remains vacant.

Politician Hong Ui-rak, a Democratic Party proportional representation member, declared his resignation from the party on February 24, 2016. Upon leaving the Democratic Party, he lost his seat. However, no successor from the Democratic Party appeared. According to the Public Official Election Act, the succession should have occurred by January 30, 2016, but the deadline was missed.

As a result, no fortunate successor to the Democratic Party's proportional representation seat appeared, and no additional "jjeom-o" members were added.