4 Parties - "Abolition of District Chapters before General Election"

On October 5, four political parties - Grand National Party, Millennium Democratic Party, Uri Party, and United Liberal Democrats - agreed to close down all their district chapters before next year`s general election in their attempt to improve high-cost political structure.

National Assembly speaker, Park Kwan-yong, announced the news at a press conference after the meeting with the floor leaders of the four parties at the National Assembly that afternoon.

Concerning the dates of the elimination of district chapters, Park said that MDP originally pushed for the close after the general election next year, but readjusted their position to go along with the stream if all the other parties decide to take action.

The four floor leaders agreed to implement the public election management system starting with next year`s election in order to eliminate candidates’ spending for the campaign and to submit each of the party`s revised election bill to the National Assembly`s committee for political reform by October 12.

Also, concerning the electorate system, GNP insisted on minor electorate system while Uri and ULD called for major, so the issue will be further discussed later at the committee for political reform. The floor leaders of the four parties decided to finalize the electorate issue and election bill revision by the end of this year.

National Assembly Speaker Park added that the 11-member advisory committee for political reform will be formed by October 12.

Park tried to rule out a vote of confidence by saying, “Since the constitution mentions `president`s term` only in the case of an accident or impeachment, a vote of confidence should not be an option," but GNP and Uri did not consent.

Secretary General Lim Jwa-soon of the National Election Commission attended the National Assembly`s committee for local autonomy and personally suggested integrating Mixed Member Proportional Representation System with major electorate system saying, "Big-scale campaign funds that lead to political corruption is inevitable under the current system because minor electorate system encourages candidates` direct contact with voters."

Yeon-Wook Jung Ho-Won Choi jyw11@donga.com bestiger@donga.com