(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Park Soo-yoon and Oh Gyu-jin = While Yong Hye-in, candidate for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, resigned from her candidacy on the 13th due to controversy over concurrent positions, attention is also focused on whether the semi-interlocked proportional representation system, which served as the basis for Candidate Yong's entry into the National Assembly in the next general election, will be maintained.
In a situation where there has been constant criticism that the two major parties have created 'trick satellite parties' and distorted the system, it is assessed that Candidate Yong's attempt to hold concurrent positions has added fuel to the controversy.
The semi-linked proportional representation system is a system that calculates the vote percentage of a political party for a total of 300 seats, subtracts the number of seats obtained through district election, and half of the remaining seats are guaranteed as proportional representation seats.
It was introduced in the name of allowing minority parties to enter the National Assembly and expanding proportionality ahead of the 21st general election, but it was criticized that it was difficult for ordinary voters to understand how votes were reflected, and that the purpose of introduction was defeated as large political parties created satellite parties to secure proportional representation seats.
In the 21st general election, in which the semi-linked proportional representation system was applied to 30 of the 47 proportional representation seats, the Citizens' Party and the Future Korea Party, which were proportional satellite parties of the Democratic Party and the United Future Party (predecessor of the People Power Party), won 17 and 19 seats, respectively.
Accordingly, there was discussion about revision once ahead of the 22nd general election, but the differences between the ruling and opposition parties were not resolved, and the semi-linked proportional representation system was maintained.
At the time, the People Power Party called for a return to the parallel proportional representation system, and similar arguments were made within the Democratic Party, but it was decided to maintain the system in consideration of opposition from minor political parties.
In the 22nd general election, the Democratic Alliance for Democracy, a satellite party of the Democratic Party of Korea, won 14 seats, and the People's Future, a satellite party of the People Power Party, won 18 seats.
Candidate Yong took advantage of this system and became a proportional representative member of the National Assembly as a member of the Democratic Party of Korea in the 21st general election and as a member of the Democratic Alliance of Korea in the 22nd general election.
There has been criticism not only from the conservative opposition but also from progressive parties such as the Justice Party over the unusual proportional representation re-election.
As Candidate Yong, who benefited from the semi-mixed proportional representation system, failed to run after various controversies, it is highly likely that the semi-mixed proportional representation system will emerge as a hot potato in the National Assembly in the second half of the year.
The People Power Party has criticized Candidate Yong's attempt to hold concurrent positions, and has proposed to the Democratic Party that they discuss reforming the electoral system to completely abolish the semi-mixed proportional representation system.
At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 10th, floor leader Jeong Jeong-sik said, "When it comes time for elections, left-wing parties with insufficient quality gather around the 'host party' Democratic Party like 'pop-up parties'. They receive proportional representation through the Democratic Party's choice, not the people's choice, and enter the National Assembly to act as the vanguard of the Democratic Party. This low-quality system must now be abolished."
On the other hand, the Democratic Party is showing a relatively reserved attitude in this regard.
A key party official said in a phone call with Yonhap News that day, “It’s an issue we’ll talk about later.”
Ultimately, the reform of the electoral system is expected to be outlined through the National Assembly's Special Committee on Political Reform as early as the second half of next year, or at the latest ahead of the 23rd general election.
The Constitutional Court's ruling in January of this year that the so-called '3% blocking clause' of the Public Official Election Act is unconstitutional is also expected to serve as a variable in the election law revision process.
This provision stipulates that if a party's vote rate is less than 3%, it cannot obtain proportional representation seats. Without this provision, the Liberty Unification Party, Green Justice Party, and New Future could have secured one proportional representation seat each in the last general election.
Although it may vary depending on the revision of the election law, there are observations that if the restrictions on seat distribution are eliminated or relaxed, even small political parties will be able to receive seats according to the vote percentage, so discussions on revising the semi-linked proportional representation system may gain momentum.
