National Assembly (South Korea)

National Assembly
of the Republic of Korea
대한민국 국회
大韓民國國會
Daehan-min-guk Gukhoe
19th National Assembly
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Chung Ui-hwa, Independent [1]
Since 30 May 2014
Vice Speaker
Jeong Kab-yoon, Saenuri
Since 30 May 2014
Vice Speaker
Lee Seok-hyun, Minjoo
Since 30 May 2014
Structure
Seats 300
Political groups

Government:[2]

Opposition:

Length of term
 4 years
Elections
Parallel voting:
First-past-the-post (single member constituencies)
Party-list proportional representation (national lists)
Last election
 13 April 2016
Next election
 15 April 2020
Meeting place
The National Assembly Building at Seoul, in September 2014.
(37°31′55.21″N 126°54′50.66″E / 37.5320028°N 126.9140722°E / 37.5320028; 126.9140722)
Website
korea.na.go.kr
National Assembly
Hangul 대한민국국회
Hanja 大韓民國國會
Revised Romanization Daehanminguk Gukhoe
McCune–Reischauer Taehanminguk Kukhoe
National Assembly
Hangul 국회
Hanja 國會
Revised Romanization Gukhoe
McCune–Reischauer Kukhoe
Main conference room of South korean national assembly building

The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, often shortened to the National Assembly in domestic English-language media, is the 300-member[3] unicameral national legislature of South Korea. The latest legislative elections were held on 13 April 2016. Single-member constituencies comprise 253 of the assembly's seats, while the remaining 47 are allocated by proportional representation. Members serve four-year terms.

The unicameral assembly consists of at least 200 members according to the South Korean constitution. In 1990 the assembly had 299 seats, 224 of which were directly elected from single-member districts in the general elections of April 1988. Under applicable laws, the remaining seventy-five representatives were elected from party lists. By law, candidates for election to the assembly must be at least thirty years of age. As part of a political compromise in 1987, an earlier requirement that candidates have at least five years' continuous residency in the country was dropped to allow Kim Dae-Jung, who had spent several years in exile in Japan and the United States during the 1980s, to return to political life. The National Assembly's term is four years. In a change from the more authoritarian Fourth Republic and Fifth Republic (1972–80 and 1980–87, respectively), under the Sixth Republic, the assembly cannot be dissolved by the president.

Current composition

Members-elect of the 20th National Assembly of South Korea
(as of 13 April 2016)
Group Floor leader Seats % of seats
  Minjoo Woo Sang-ho 123 41.0%
  Saenuri Chung Jin-suk 122 40.7%
  People's Park Jie-won 38 12.7%
  Justice Roh Hoe-chan 6 2.0%
  Independents 11 3.6%
Total 300 100.0%

Notes:

  1. Negotiation groups can be formed by 20 or more members. There are currently 3 negotiation groups in the Assembly, formed by the Saenuri Party, the Minjoo Party of Korea, and the People's Party.
  2. Source:

Structure and appointment

Speaker

The constitution stipulates that the assembly is presided over by a Speaker and two Deputy Speakers,[4] who are responsible for expediting the legislative process. The Speaker and Deputy Speakers are elected in a secret ballot by the members of the Assembly, and their term in office is restricted to two years.[5] The Speaker is independent of party affiliation, and the Speaker and Deputy Speakers may not simultaneously be government ministers.[5]

Negotiation groups

Parties that hold at least 20 seats in the assembly form floor negotiation groups (Korean: 교섭단체, RR: gyoseop danche), which are entitled to a variety of rights that are denied to smaller parties. These include a greater amount of state funding and participation in the leaders' summits that determine the assembly's legislative agenda.[6]

Legislative process

To introduce a bill, a legislator must present the initiative to the Speaker with the signatures of at least ten other members of the assembly. The bill must then be edited by a committee to ensure that the bill contains correct and systematic language. It can then be approved or rejected by the Assembly.[7]

Committees

There are 16 standing committees which examine bills and petitions falling under their respective jurisdictions, and perform other duties as prescribed by relevant laws.

Election

Since the promulgation of the March 1988 electoral law, the assembly has been elected every four years through a Supplementary Member system, meaning that some of the members are elected from constituencies according to the system of first past the post, while others are elected at a national level through proportional representation.[8] As of 2012, 246 members represent constituencies, while 54 were elected from PR lists. In contrast to elections to the Assembly, presidential elections occur once every five years, and this has led to frequent situations of minority government and legislative deadlock.[9]

Reform proposals

A proposal to lower the number of seats required to form a negotiation group to 15 was passed on 24 July 2000, but was overturned by the Constitutional Court later that month.[10] In order to meet the quorum, the United Liberal Democrats, who then held 17 seats, arranged to "rent" three legislators from the Millennium Democratic Party. The legislators returned to the MDP after the collapse of the ULD–MDP coalition in September 2001.[11]

Legislative violence

From 2004 to 2009, the assembly gained notoriety as a frequent site for legislative violence.[12] The Assembly first came to the world's attention during a violent dispute on impeachment proceedings for then President Roh Moo-hyun,[13][14] when open physical combat took place in the assembly. Since then, it has been interrupted by periodic conflagrations, piquing the world's curiosity once again in 2009 when members battled each other with sledgehammers and fire extinguishers.[15][16][17][18] Images of the melee were broadcast around the world.

History

South Korean National Assembly in the 1980s
South Korea
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
South Korea
Constitution
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First Republic

Elections for the assembly were held under UN supervision[19] on 10 May 1948. The First Republic of South Korea was established on 17 July 1948[20] when the constitution of the First Republic was established by the Assembly. The Assembly also had the job of electing the President, and elected anti-communist Syngman Rhee as President on 10 May 1948.

Under the first constitution, the National Assembly was unicameral. Under the second and third constitutions, the National Assembly became bicameral and consisted of the House of Commons and the Senate, but actually unicameral with the House of Commons because the House of Commons could not pass a bill to establish the Senate.

.

Third Republic

Since the reopen of the National Assembly in 1963 until today, it has been unicameral.

Fourth Republic

Fifth Republic

Sixth Republic

      Conservative       Liberal       Progressive

      majority       lack majority       largest minority

National
Assembly		 Majority
Party		 Majority
Leader		 Seats Speaker Seats Minority
Leaders		 Minority
Parties
13th
(1988)		   DJP
↓
DLP		 125↓
219		 1988–1990 Kim Jae-sun (supported by DJP→DLP)
1990–1992 Park Jyun-kyu (supported by DLP)		 70   PPD→DP (91)
59↓
0		 RDP
merge with DJP 1990
35↓
0		 NDRP
merge with DJP 1990
14th
(1992)		 DLP
↓
NKP		 149↓
119		 1992–1993 Park Jyun-kyu (supported by DLP)
1993 Hwang Nak-joo (supported by DP)
1993–1994 Lee Man-sup (supported by DLP)
1994–1996 Park Jyun-kyu (supported by DLP→NKP)		 97 DP (91)→NCNP
0↓
61		 ULD
split from DLP in 1995
31↓
0		 UPP
merge with ULD in 1995
15th
(1996)		 NKP
↓
GNP		 1999–2000 Lee Bu-young 139 1996–1998 Kim Soo-han (supported by NKP→GNP)
1998–2000 Park Jyun-kyu (supported by GNP)		 79 NCNP→MDP
50 ULD
15 UDP (95)→DP (95)
16th
(2000)		 GNP 2000 Lee Bu-young
2000–2001 Jeon Chang-hwa
2001–2002 Lee Jae-oh
2002–2003 Lee Kyu-taek
2003–2004 Hong Sa-duk		 133↓
150		 2000–2002 Lee Man-sup (supported by MDP)
2002–2004 Park Kwan-yong (supported by GNP)		 115↓
73		 MDP
0↓
47		 2003–2004 Kim Geun-tae UP
split from MDP in 2003
17↓
0		 ULD
merge with GNP in 2006
17th
(2004)		 UP
↓
UDP		 2004 Kim Geun-tae (UP)
2004–2005 Chun Jung-bae (UP)
2005–2006 Chung Sye-kyun (UP)
2006–2007 Kim Han-gil (UP)
2007–2008 Chang Young-dal (UP)
2007–2008 Kim Hyo-seuk (UDP)		 152 2004–2006 Kim Won-ki (supported by UP)
2006–2008 Lim Chae-jung (supported by UP→UDP)		 121 2004 Hong Sa-duk
2004–2005 Kim Deog-ryong
2005–2006 Kang Jae-sup
2006 Lee Jae-oh
2006–2007 Kim Hyong-o
2007–2008 Ahn Sang-soo		 GNP
10 DLP
18th
(2008)		 GNP
↓
SP		 2008 Ahn Sang-soo
2008–2009 Hong Jun-pyo
2009–2010 Ahn Sang-soo
2010–2011 Kim Moo-sung
2011–2012 Hwang Woo-yea		 153 2008–2010 Kim Hyong-o (supported by GNP)
2010–2012 Park Hee-tae (supported by GNP)
2012–2012 Chung Eui-hwa (supported by GNP→SP)		 81 2008 Kim Hyo-seuk (UDP)
2008–2009 Won Hye-young (UDP→DP)
2009–2010 Lee Kang-lae (DP)
2010–2011 Park Jie-won (DP)
2011–2012 Kim Jin-pyo (DP→DUP)		 UDP→DP (08)→DUP
18 2008–2010 Kwon Sun-taik
2010 Ryu Keun-chan
2010–2011 Kwon Sun-taik
2011–2012 Kim Nak-sung		 LFP
5 2008 Kwon Young-ghil (DLP)
2008–2012 Kang Ki-kab (DLP→UPP)		 DLP→UPP
14↓
0		 2008–2012 Roh Chul-Lae PPC→FHA
merge with SP in 2012
19th
(2012)		 SP 2012 Hwang Woo-yea
2012–2013 Lee Hahn-koo
2013–2014 Choi Kyoung-hwan
2014–2015 Lee Wan-koo
2015 Yoo Seung-min
2015–present Won Yoo-chul		 152↓
158↓
160↓
156↓
157↓
146		 2012–2014 Kang Chang-hee (supported by SP)
2014–present Chung Ui-hwa (supported by SP)		 127↓
130↓
111↓
107↓
102		 2012 Kim Jin-pyo (DUP)
2012 Park Jie-won (DUP)
2012–2013 Park Ki-choon (DUP→DP)
2013–2014 Jun Byung-hun (DP→NPAD)
2014 Park Young-sun (NPAD)
2014 Kim Yung-rok (NPAD)
2014–2015 Woo Yoon-keun (NPAD)
2015–present Lee Jong-kul (NPAD→MPK)		 DUP→DP (11)→NPAD→MPK
18↓
21		 2016–present Joo Seung-yong PP
split from NPAD in 2016
5 2012–2013 Kang Dong-won
2013–2015 Sim Sang-jung
2015–present Jeong Jin-hoo		 JP
split from UPP in 2012
1 2016–present Lee Yoon-seok CLP
1 2016–present Shin Ki-nam MP
13↓
5↓
0		 2012 Kang Ki-kab
2012–2014 Kim Seon-dong
2014 Oh Byung-yun		 UPP
banned in 2014
5↓
0		 2011–2012 Kim Nak-sung
2012 Sung Woan-jong		 LFP→AUP
merge with SP in 2012

Members

See also

References

  1. ↑ Speaker of Assembly can't join in party
  2. ↑ "2016 제20대 국회의원선거". Naver-KBS. Retrieved April 13, 2016.
  3. ↑ Article 21, Clause 1 of the Election Law
  4. ↑ Article 48 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea.
  5. 1 2 Park, Young-Do (2010). "Kapitel 2: Verfassungsrecht". Einführung in das koreanische Recht [Introduction to Korean Law] (in German). Springer. p. 25. ISBN 9783642116032.
  6. ↑ Youngmi Kim (2011). The Politics of Coalition in South Korea. Taylor & Francis, p. 65.
  7. ↑ Park 2010, p. 27.
  8. ↑ Aurel S. Croissant, "Electoral Politics of South Korea", in Croissant et al. (2002) Electoral Politics in Southeast and East Asia. Friedrich Ebert Foundation, p. 257.
  9. ↑ Croissant, p. 257.
  10. ↑ Y. Kim, p. 68.
  11. ↑ Y. Kim, pp. 68–9.
  12. ↑ World's Most Unruly Parliaments
  13. ↑ South Korean President Impeached
  14. ↑ Impeachment battle
  15. ↑ Democracy, South Korean-style: MPs blasted with fire extinguishers after trying to break into Parliament with hoses and sledgehammers
  16. ↑ South Korea lawmakers: Reaching across the aisle with a sledgehammer
  17. ↑ South Korean politicians use fire extinguishers against opposition
  18. ↑ Hall of Violence
  19. ↑ Setting the Stage
  20. ↑ ICL – South Korea Index
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