Parliamentary Aides Reexamined Amid the Myeong Taekyun Incident

Amid the rapidly spreading Myeong Taegyun incident, there is ongoing controversy over whether Mr. Myeong, who was reportedly present at a meeting where Changwon City discussed municipal issues with a local member of the National Assembly, was perceived as an aide.

Some media outlets have questioned why he, as a civilian, was privy to municipal matters, prompting a closer examination of Changwon City's claim that they had no choice but to assume he was an aide.

◆ What is a National Assembly Member's Aide?

According to the "Act on the Aides and Allowances of Members of the National Assembly," members of the National Assembly appoint aides and other staff to support their legislative activities.

Aides include positions such as a level 4 secretary (aide), a senior secretary equivalent to level 5, and secretaries equivalent to levels 6, 7, 8, and 9, with a total authorized staff of eight. People who work with a member of the National Assembly are commonly referred to collectively as aides. They are special government employees affiliated with the National Assembly (legislative branch), with guaranteed status, and their salaries, allowances, and social insurance are all paid from the National Assembly's budget.

Appointments and dismissals of aides at levels 4 and 5 require approval from the Speaker of the National Assembly, while those at levels 6 to 9 require approval from the Secretary-General of the National Assembly. However, these approvals are largely formalities, as the appointment authority rests entirely with the member of the National Assembly.

Separately, members of the National Assembly hire staff to work in their constituency offices. Typically, one to three aides working at the National Assembly are assigned to constituency offices, and personnel needed for managing political donations and operating the constituency office are funded through political funds. Article 9 of the Political Funds Act allows members of the National Assembly to employ up to five paid office workers in their local offices.

Additionally, under Article 30 of the Political Parties Act (Limitation on the Number of Paid Office Workers of Political Parties), political parties may employ paid office workers who work in local offices. The law specifies that city and provincial party organizations may employ up to 100 paid office workers.

In summary, the staff at a member of the National Assembly's local office are composed of individuals who have joined through various channels.

◆ Relationship Between Local Members of the National Assembly and Local Governments

Organic communication between local governments and local members of the National Assembly is crucial. This is because securing various national budgets for the region's future and amending laws to resolve local issues require the support of local members of the National Assembly who can advocate to the government and the National Assembly.

For these reasons, heads of local governments visit the National Assembly not only during the central government budget formulation period but also to hold meetings with local members of the National Assembly to discuss major issues. Senior local government officials also travel separately to Seoul to arrange meetings with aides.

Moreover, local governments visit constituency offices when requested by members of the National Assembly or when sharing and consulting on current issues is necessary. Since frequent trips to Seoul are difficult, these meetings usually coincide with the member of the National Assembly visiting their local office.

◆ Examining Changwon City's Claim

Before 1988, when there was only one level 4 aide, that single aide handled both political and policy duties. However, when the number of level 4 aides increased to two, it became common for one to be assigned to the constituency and the other to handle policy exclusively.

Until then, aides working at the National Assembly and paid staff in the constituency were clearly distinguished. But as the number of aides increased, the lines blurred between aides assigned to constituency offices and separately hired paid staff.

We also looked into the titles used by aides. In the past, when district party organizations existed, constituency offices included positions such as office manager, women's division head, organization division head, and secretary. Although the district party system was abolished in 2004, it is known that some members of constituency offices still hold titles like special advisor and work closely with members of the National Assembly.

From this perspective, when a local government official visits a constituency office and the person presents a business card with a National Assembly office title from the outset, it is structurally difficult to verify whether that person is an aide or a separately hired office worker without asking directly. Furthermore, if the person consistently occupies a seat and shares opinions with the member of the National Assembly during visits, this situation becomes even more understandable.

In this case, since the title was not a common one, it is understandable that Changwon City might have had some suspicion. However, considering that most constituency offices of members of the National Assembly operate under similar structures and that Changwon City has so far conducted municipal consultations smoothly with local members of the National Assembly and their constituency offices, Changwon City's claim that they had no choice but to assume he was an aide appears to have merit.