Possibility of Party Consensus on 'Reducing Number of Assembly Members'... Momentum for Election System Reform

Supreme Council Members Actively Agree on 'Reduction of Lawmakers'
Lee Cheol-gyu: "This Is Not a Matter of Political Engineering"

The People Power Party's emphasis on 'reducing the number of National Assembly members' has drawn attention to whether discussions on electoral system reform will accelerate. Following Kim Gi-hyeon, the leader of the People Power Party, officially announcing the reduction of assembly members in a recent negotiation group representative speech, the party leadership and affiliated lawmakers have collectively rallied their support, with the possibility of pushing it as party policy being anticipated.

Kim Byung-min, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the morning of the 21st and stated, "During the last plenary committee meeting, discussions had already been underway at the Supreme Council leadership level, and when Party Leader Kim Gi-hyeon mentioned at the Supreme Council meeting that he would propose reducing the number of assembly members, the Supreme Council members present at that time generally expressed strong agreement." This suggests that the reduction of assembly members can be seen as a decision at the leadership level of the People Power Party.

Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, is delivering a negotiation group representative speech at the National Assembly on the 20th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

In his negotiation group representative speech held at the National Assembly the previous day, Leader Kim proposed a 10% reduction in the number of National Assembly members as one of the political reform tasks. Considering the current number of assembly members is 300, a 10% reduction means cutting 30 seats. Leader Kim had also advocated for reducing the number of assembly members before the National Assembly plenary committee for electoral reform discussions was held in April.

Supreme Council member Kim explained, "If the approach becomes about which proportional representation seats to cut or which constituencies to reduce, it will become very difficult to actually reduce the total number of assembly members." He added, "If the ruling and opposition parties reach an agreement, then sequential steps such as reducing proportional representation seats and adjusting some constituencies can be expected."

Secretary-General Lee Cheol-gyu also supported the reduction of assembly members. On SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's News Show' that day, Secretary-General Lee said, "The public's wish is clear: the number of assembly members is too large, so reduce it; why do assembly members maintain privileges? Abolish the immunity from arrest; ordinary citizens do not get paid if they do not work, but why do assembly members receive salaries even if they flee or disappear after wrongdoing? These are the public's demands for reform."

When asked if this was a strategic move to win over the centrist voters, Secretary-General Lee responded, "This is not a matter of political engineering. Such political engineering is what the Democratic Party thinks. These are things the public always hopes for and demands, but since the People Power Party cannot do this alone, they are demanding it from the Democratic Party, which holds an overwhelming majority."

Jo Hae-jin, a People Power Party lawmaker and chair of the National Assembly's Special Committee on Political Reform, argued that reducing proportional representation seats is necessary to reduce the total number of assembly members. On KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' Jo said, "If the current semi-proportional system is maintained or expanded, there is a possibility that proportional seats will need to be increased. However, if it is concluded based on previous trial and error that the proportional system is no longer necessary, there is a way to reduce proportional seats." He added, "Personally, I think the total number of seats should be reduced by cutting or eliminating proportional representation."

Jo also viewed the adoption of 'reducing the number of assembly members' as party policy by the People Power Party as highly likely. He explained, "Adopting party policy is not the party leader's jurisdiction but the floor leader's. So far, there has been no announcement that the floor leader will convene a party meeting to adopt the policy." However, he added, "Considering the high level of public support for this agenda and the fact that many lawmakers within our party sympathize with it after informal discussions, if the floor leader convenes a party meeting for debate, it seems highly likely that it will be adopted as party policy."