National Assembly (South Korea)

The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, often shortened to the National Assembly in domestic English-language media, is the 300-member[2] unicameral national legislature of South Korea. Elections to the National Assembly are held every four years. The latest legislative elections were held on 15 April 2020. Single-member constituencies comprise 253 of the assembly's seats, while the remaining 47 are allocated by proportional representation, 30 of which are used to compensate for the Single-member constituencies. Members serve four-year terms.

National Assembly of the
Republic of Korea

대한민국 국회
大韓民國國會

Daehanminguk Gukhoe
21st National Assembly
Type
Type
Leadership
     Park Byeong-seug, Independent[1]
since 5 June 2020
Deputy Speaker
     Kim Sang-hee, Democratic
since 5 June 2020
Structure
Seats300
Political groups
Length of term
4 years
Salary$115,000
Elections
Last election
15 April 2020
Next election
17 April 2024
Meeting place
National Assembly Building
Seoul, South Korea
37°31′55.21″N 126°54′50.66″E
Website
korea.assembly.go.kr
Footnotes
    National Assembly
    Hangul
    Hanja
    Revised RomanizationDaehanminguk gukhoe
    McCune–ReischauerTaehanmin'guk kukhoe
    Main conference room of South Korean national assembly building.
    South Korean national assembly Main conference room, 2014

    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
    This graph traces the recent origins of all six main political parties currently in the Republic of Korea. All of which have either split from or merged with other parties in the last four years. They have emerged from four main ideological camps, from Left to Right: Progressive (socialist), liberal, centrist, and conservative.
    See also: 2020 South Korean legislative election and List of members of the National Assembly (South Korea), 2020–2024
    Parties in the 21st National Assembly
    Group Floor leader Seats % of seats
      Democratic Kim Tae-nyeon 176 58.7%
      United Future Joo Ho-young 103 34.3%
      Justice Bae Jin-gyo 6 2.0%
      People Kwon Eun-hee 3 1.0%
      Open Democratic Kim Jin-ae 3 1.0%
      Basic Income Yong Hye-in 1 0.3%
      Period Transition Cho Jung-hoon 1 0.3%
      Independents 7 1.7%
    Total 300 100.0%

    Notes:

    1. Negotiation groups can be formed by 20 or more members.

    Structure and appointment

    Speaker

    The constitution stipulates that the assembly is presided over by a Speaker and two Deputy Speakers,[3] 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.[4] The Speaker is independent of party affiliation, and the Speaker and Deputy Speakers may not simultaneously be government ministers.[4]

    Negotiation groups

    Parties that hold at least 20 seats in the assembly form floor negotiation groups (Korean: 교섭단체, Hanja: 交涉團體, 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.[5]

    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.[6]

    Committees

    There are 17 standing committees which examine bills and petitions falling under their respective jurisdictions, and perform other duties as prescribed by relevant laws.

    • House Steering Committee
    • Legislation and Judiciary Committee
    • National Policy Committee
    • Strategy and Finance Committee
    • Science, ICT, Future Planning, Broadcasting and Communications Committee
    • Education Committee
    • Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee
    • Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee
    • National Defense Committee
    • Security and Public Administration Committee
    • Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee
    • Trade, Industry and Energy Committee
    • Health and Welfare Committee
    • Environment and Labor Committee
    • Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee
    • Intelligence Committee
    • Gender Equality and Family Committee

    Election
    See also: Legislative elections in South Korea

    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.[7] As of 2016, 253 members represent constituencies, while 47 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.[8]

    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.[9] 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.[10]

    Legislative violence

    From 2004 to 2009, the assembly gained notoriety as a frequent site for legislative violence.[11] The Assembly first came to the world's attention during a violent dispute on impeachment proceedings for then President Roh Moo-hyun,[12][13] 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.[14][15][16] 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
    the Republic of Korea
     South Korea portal

    First Republic

    Elections for the assembly were held under UN supervision[17] on 10 May 1948. The First Republic of South Korea was established on 17 July 1948[18] 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.

      Conservative   Liberal   Progressive

      majority   plurality only   largest minority

    National
    Assembly    		 Majority
    Party    		 Majority
    Leader    		 Seats Speaker Seats Minority
    Leaders    		 Minority
    Parties
    1st
    (1948)    		   NARRKI→NA 55 1948 Rhee Syng-man (supported by NARRKI)
    1948–1950 Shin Ik-hee (supported by NARRKI until 1949)    		 29 KDP→DNP  
    116 others
    2nd
    (1950)    		 DNP 24 Shin Ik-hee (supported by DNP) 24 KNP
    14 NA
    148 others
    3rd
    (1954)    		   LP 114 Yi Ki-bung (supported by LP) 15 DNP→DP (55)
    3 NA
    3 KNP
    68 others
    4th
    (1958)    		 LP 126 Yi Ki-bung (supported by LP) 79 DP (55)
    28 others

    Second Republic
    House of
    Commons    		 Majority
    Party    		 Majority
    Leader    		 Seats Speaker Seats Minority
    Leaders    		 Minority
    Parties
    5th
    (1960)    		   DP (55) 175 Kwak Sang-hoon (supported by DP (55)) 58 Others  
    Senate Majority
    Party    		 Majority
    Leader    		 Seats Speaker Seats Minority
    Leaders    		 Minority
    Parties
    5th
    (1960)    		   DP (55) 31 Baek Nak-jun (supported by DP (55)) 27 Others  

    Third Republic

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

    National
    Assembly    		 Majority
    Party    		 Majority
    Leader    		 Seats Speaker Seats Minority
    Leaders    		 Minority
    Parties
    6th
    (1963)    		   DRP 110 Lee Hyu-sang (supported by DRP) 41 CRP→PP→NDP  
    13 DP (55)→PP→NDP
    7th
    (1967)    		 DRP 129 Lee Hyu-sang (supported by DRP) 45 NDP
    8th
    (1971)    		   DRP 113 Baek Du-jin (supported by DRP) 89 NDP

    Fourth Republic
    National
    Assembly    		 Majority
    Party    		 Majority
    Leader    		 Seats Speaker Seats Minority
    Leaders    		 Minority
    Parties
    9th
    (1973)    		   DRP+Presidential appointees 146 Chung Il-kwon (supported by DRP) 52 NDP  
    10th
    (1978)    		 DRP+Presidential appointees
    ↓
    KNP    		 145 1978–1879 Chung Il-kwon (supported by DRP)
    1979 Baek Du-jin (supported by DRP)    		 61 NDP

    Fifth Republic
    National
    Assembly    		 Majority
    Party    		 Majority
    Leader    		 Seats Speaker Seats Minority
    Leaders    		 Minority
    Parties
    11th
    (1981)    		   DJP 151 1981–1983 Chung Rae-hyung (supported by DJP)
    1983–1985 Chae Mun-shik (supported by DJP)    		 81 DKP  
    25 KNP
    12th
    (1985)    		 DJP 148 Lee Jae-hyung (supported by DJP) 67 NKDP
    35 DKP
    20 KNP

    Sixth Republic

      majority   plurality   largest minority

    Term (Election) Composition
    (at commencement)    		 Speaker Majority floor leader Minority floor leader
    (largest parliamentary group)    		 Conservative
    current: UFP    		 Liberal
    current: DP    		 Progressive
    current: JP    		 Miscellaneous
    right    		 Miscellaneous
    left    		 Independent
    13th (1988) 70:104:125




    		 Kim Jae-sun (1988–90)
    Park Jyun-kyu (1990-92)    		 Yoon Gil-joong (1988)
    Park Jyun-kyu (1988–90)
    Park Tae-joon (1990)
    Kim Young-sam (1990-92)
    (DJP→DLP)    		 Kim Dae-jung
    (PDP→DP91)    		 125 70 - 59 36 9
    14th (1992) 97:52:149




    		 Park Jyun-kyu (1992–93)
    Hwang Nak-joo (1993)
    Lee Man-sup (1993–94)
    Park Jyun-kyu (1994–96)    		 Kim Young-sam (1992)
    Kim Jong-pil (1992-95)
    Lee Chun-gu (1995)
    Kim Yoon-hwan (1995-96)
    (DLP→NKP)    		 Kim Dae-jung (1992–93)
    Lee Ki-taek (1993–95)
    Kim Dae-jung (1995–96)
    (DP91→NCNP)    		 149 97 - - 31 21
    15th (1996) 79:81:139




    		 Kim Soo-han (1996–98)
    Park Jyun-kyu (1998–00)    		 Lee Hong-koo (1996–97)
    Lee Hoi-chang (1997)
    Lee Man-sup (1997)
    Lee Hoi-chang (1997)
    Lee Han-dong (1997)
    Mok Yo-sang (1997)
    Lee Sang-deuk (1997-98)
    Ha Sun-bong (1998)
    Park Hee-tae (1998-99)
    Lee Bu-young (1999-00)
    (NKP→GNP)    		 Cho Se-hyeong (1996-99)
    Kim Young-bae (1999)
    Lee Man-sup (1999-00)
    Seo Young-hoon (2000)
    (NCNP→MDP)    		 139 79 - 65 - 16
    16th (2000) 115:25:133




    		 Lee Man-sup (2000–02)
    Park Kwan-yong (2002–04)    		 Jeon Chang-hwa (2000–01)
    Lee Jae-oh (2001–02)
    Lee Kyu-taek (2002–03)
    Hong Sa-duk (2003–04)
    (GNP)    		 Seo Young-hoon (2000)
    Kim Jung-kwon (2000-01)
    Han Kwang-ok (2001-02)
    Han Hwa-gap (2002-03)
    Chyung Dai-chul (2003)
    Park Sang-cheon (2003)
    Cho Soon-hyung (2003-04)
    (MDP)    		 133 115 - 20 - 5
    17th (2004) 10:152:16:121



    		 Kim Won-ki (2004–06)
    Lim Chae-jung (2006–08)    		 Chun Jung-bae (2004–05)
    Chung Sye-kyun (2005–06)
    Kim Han-gil (2006–07)
    Chang Young-dal (2007–08)
    Kim Hyo-seuk (2008)
    (UP→UDP)    		 Kim Deog-ryong (2004–05)
    Kang Jae-sup (2005–06)
    Lee Jae-oh (2006)
    Kim Hyong-o (2006–07)
    Ahn Sang-soo (2007–08)
    (GNP)    		 121 152 10 4 9 3
    18th (2008) 5:81:60:153



    		 Kim Hyong-o (2008–10)
    Park Hee-tae (2010–12)
    Chung Eui-hwa (2012)    		 Hong Jun-pyo (2008–09)
    Ahn Sang-soo (2009–10)
    Kim Moo-sung (2010–11)
    Hwang Woo-yea (2011-12)
    (GNP→SP/NFP)    		 Won Hye-young (2008–09)
    Lee Kang-lae (2009-10)
    Park Jie-won (2010–11)
    Kim Jin-pyo (2011–12)
    (UDP→DP08→DUP)    		 153 81 5 32 3 25
    19th (2012) 13:127:8:152



    		 Kang Chang-hee (2012–14)
    Chung Ui-hwa (2014–16)
    Chung Eui-hwa (2012)    		 Lee Hahn-koo (2012–13)
    Choi Kyoung-hwan (2013–14)
    Lee Wan-koo (2014–15)
    Yoo Seung-min (2015)
    Won Yoo-chul (2015-16)
    (SP/NFP)    		 Park Jie-won (2012)
    Park Ki-choon (2012-13)
    Jun Byung-hun (2013–14)
    Park Young-sun (2014)
    Kim Yung-rok (2014)
    Woo Yoon-keun (2014–15)
    Lee Jong-kul (2015–16)
    (DUP→DP11→NPAD→DP14)    		 152 127 13 5 - 3
    20th (2016) 6:123:49:122



    		 Chung Sye-kyun (2016–18)
    Moon Hee-sang (2018–20)
    Chung Eui-hwa (2012)    		 Woo Sang-ho (2016-17)
    Woo Won-shik (2017-18)
    Hong Young-pyo (2018–19)
    Lee In-young (2019–20)
    (DP14)    		 Chung Jin-suk (2016)
    Chung Woo-taek (2016–17)
    Kim Sung-tae (2017–18)
    Na Kyung-won (2018–19)
    Shim Jae-chul (2019-20)
    (SP/NFP→LKP→UFP)    		 122 123 6 - 38 11
    21st (2020) 6:180:11:103



    		 Park Byeong-seug (2020–present) Kim Tae-nyeon (2020–present)
    (DP14)    		 Joo Ho-young (2019-present)
    (UFP)    		 103 180 6 3 3 5

    Members
    gollark: There's "only" about 541 lines of code here, I'm sure I can come up with a better implementation again.
    gollark: OH APIOFORMS, my webcrawler code was SO VAGUELY BAD.
    gollark: Yes, that is the shadily appropriate way.
    gollark: RFS works because you have a human there to interpret it very freeformly.
    gollark: That wouldn't really work.

    See also

    References
    1. The Speaker is required to not have membership of any political party during his or her tenure as Speaker, by law. Formerly a member of the Democratic
    2. Article 21, Clause 1 of the Election Law
    3. Article 48 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea.
    4. Park, Young-Do (2010). "Kapitel 2: Verfassungsrecht". Einführung in das koreanische Recht [Introduction to Korean Law] (in German). Springer. p. 25. ISBN 9783642116032.
    5. Youngmi Kim (2011). The Politics of Coalition in South Korea. Taylor & Francis, p. 65.
    6. Park 2010, p. 27.
    7. 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.
    8. Croissant, p. 257.
    9. Y. Kim, p. 68.
    10. Y. Kim, pp. 68–9.
    11. "The World's Most Unruly Parliaments".
    12. "South Korean president impeached". 12 March 2004 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
    13. "In pictures: Impeachment battle". 12 March 2004 – via news.bbc.co.uk.
    14. Glionna, By John M. "South Korea lawmakers: Reaching across the aisle with a sledgehammer". latimes.com.
    15. "South Korean politicians use fire extinguishers against opposition". 18 December 2008 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
    16. "Hall of Violence". 2 March 2009.
    17. Setting the Stage Archived 16 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
    18. ICL – South Korea Index Archived 13 December 2006 at the Wayback Machine
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