Rival parties agree on electoral map in last-minute deal

Politics

Published: 29 Feb. 2024, 19:04

Rival parties agree on electoral map in last-minute deal

Rep. Yun Jae-ok, floor leader of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), left, and his liberal Democratic Party (DP) counterpart Rep. Hong Ihk-pyo, right, walk toward the speaker's office at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, before their meeting on Thursday. [YONHAP]

Korea's main political parties on Thursday agreed on the map of electoral constituencies to be used in the upcoming April general election after their floor leaders reached a last-minute deal in the afternoon.

Rep. Yun Jae-ok, floor leader of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), and his liberal Democratic Party (DP) counterpart, Rep. Hong Ihk-pyo, agreed to minor changes to the electoral districts during their meeting, capping months of debate over the regional apportionment of seats in the 300-member National Assembly.

Under the floor leaders’ agreement, the number of directly elected seats based in North Jeolla will remain unchanged at 10, while the total number of seats filled by party-list proportional representation will decrease by one to 46.

The number of constituencies in Seoul will also decrease by one to 48, while the number of seats in neighboring Incheon and Gyeonggi will increase by one each, thus expanding the total number of directly elected seats by one to 254.

National Assembly starts session to discuss electoral districting, contentious bills

The floor leaders’ agreement largely adheres to the redistricting plan submitted to the National Assembly by the National Election Commission in December, which called for one less seat in both North Jeolla and Seoul and one more seat from both Gyeonggi and Incheon.

In its redistricting plan, the commission said the proposed changes were intended to keep the number of people residing within the boundaries of each parliamentary constituency between 136,600 and 273,200 and reflected demographic changes since the last general election held in 2020.

While the commission is politically neutral, redistricting proposals that affect the allotment of seats between Korea’s politically divided regions have previously resulted in extended wrangling.

The southwestern region of Korea that encompasses North Jeolla usually votes heavily in favor of liberals during elections, while the southeastern region, including North and South Gyeongsang provinces, has traditionally favored conservatives.

A bipartisan agreement regarding the map of electoral constituencies for the 2020 general election was only hammered out 39 days before polls opened.

The latest delay has hindered candidates nominated from both parties from registering with the election commission — a necessary step before they can begin carrying out campaign activities.

On Thursday, Kim Gunn — the country’s special envoy on North Korea’s nuclear program — resigned his post to join the PPP.

At a welcome event for Kim and three others who joined the party on the same day, PPP interim leader Han Dong-hoon expressed his gratitude that “more respectable individuals are joining the party” while brushing off concerns that Kim’s sudden resignation could undermine security cooperation with the United States and other partner countries.

Kim is expected to be included on the shortlist of candidates for the PPP’s satellite party, which will compete for seats filled by party-list proportional representation.

Meanwhile, the National Assembly passed a bill on Thursday increasing the Export-Import Bank of Korea’s statutory capital limit for large-scale exports from 15 trillion won ($11.2 billion) to 25 trillion won.

The move is expected to be welcomed by the country’s defense industry, which has long called for a higher capital limit for large-scale exports, such as defense systems.

The bank’s capital limit had been unchanged for ten years after being raised to 15 trillion won from 8 trillion won in 2014.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]