Law Allocating Assembly Seats Invalidated as Unconstitutional

The Constitutional Court ruled Thursday that Korea's law on proportional representation, allocating parliamentary seats in proportion to the total vote among political parties that reach an electoral threshold of five or more seats or 5 percent of the votes, is unconstitutional.

The court also struck down as unconstitutional an election law providing for the forfeiture of the 20-million won ($15,400) election deposits re-quired of candidates with no party affiliation if they fail to win at least 20 percent of the votes.

In a suit filed by Representative Chough Soon-hyung of the Millennium Democratic Party, along with the Democratic Labor Party and other individuals and organizations, a unanimous court said that the laws violated the principles of democracy and direct election stipulated by the Constitution.

In Korea, the Constitutional Court interprets the constitution, even as the Supreme Court is the final court of review.

The Constitutional Court consists of nine justices serving six-year, renewable terms.

The court held that a clause in the election law that finds the basis for proportional representation in the principle of one person, one vote is "partially constitutional."

But it said that the one person, one vote system deprives voters of half of their rights when they support a candidate but not a party or vice-versa.

The practice of political parties' drawing up lists before elections to determine the holders of the seats to be allocated goes counter to the principle of direct election, the court said.

To maintain the system of proportional representation in future elections, analysts said, the election law should be revised to allow two votes for each voter, one to be cast for a candidate, the other for a party.

In striking down the election-deposit law, the court said that the threshold should be lowered to the minimum amount necessary to prevent irresponsible persons from entering political races while not posing an obstacle to an individual's exercising the right to run for office.

The judges added that average citizens cannot easily afford 20 million won and that procedures for reclaiming the money were too complicated.

by Chang Chung-hoon