Jo Hae-jin "Reducing 30 Lawmakers Fits Public Sentiment but..."

"When the number of lawmakers is reduced, the authority of one person increases"

Jo Hae-jin, a member of the People Power Party, said that the proposal to reduce the number of lawmakers by 30, mentioned by Representative Kim Ki-hyun, "matches the public sentiment," but also noted that "the power held by each lawmaker will become greater."

On the 13th, on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current Affairs,' Rep. Jo said, "(Reducing the number of lawmakers by 30) now aligns with public sentiment. Since the National Assembly, political circles, and parties have failed to meet public expectations and have continuously disappointed, emotionally speaking, people say cut it in half. In extreme cases, there are even calls to dissolve the National Assembly."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, Rep. Jo pointed out that this is only an 'emotional' response and insufficient as a solution. He said, "That (reducing the number of lawmakers) is emotional, but since the National Assembly must function as a representative body of the people, we need to consider what alternatives are necessary to perform its functions well," adding, "The more you reduce it emotionally and sentimentally, the greater the power held by each lawmaker becomes."

This aligns with the criticism made the previous day by Lee Tan-hee of the Democratic Party of Korea. He said on KBS Radio, "If you reduce it like that, lawmakers become aristocrats or emperors."

Rep. Jo said, "We cannot act only emotionally; we need to focus on ideal discussions about how the National Assembly can perform its proper functions," and added, "There was a case in the past where nearly 270 members were reduced, but in that case, it was difficult to resolve the political confrontation and conflicts caused by the winner-takes-all system that our politics has been struggling with."

People Power Party lawmaker Cho Hae-jin is discussing election system reform issues in his office at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. Photo by Heo Young-han younghan@

The National Assembly, which has been discussing electoral system reform since the 10th, will continue discussions in the plenary committee until today. However, Rep. Jo explained that it is unlikely that a final plan will be decided on this day. He said, "Ultimately, we need to agree on one plan, legislate it, and hold elections accordingly, and we are currently in that process," adding, "It is realistically difficult to narrow it down to one plan through discussions by today."

Although the plenary committee was convened for the first time in 20 years to discuss electoral reform, the turnout has been evaluated as disappointing. Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the same party, criticized the electoral reform discussions, saying, "Even the lawmakers themselves have no expectations, and there is no public response." In response, Rep. Jo rebutted, "That is not true," saying, "In my 12 years as a lawmaker, this is the first time I have seen such a scene in the National Assembly. During government questioning and free debates, it is common to see booing, slandering, and shouting, but over three days, we calmly listened to each lawmaker's speech one by one."