National Assembly Speaker urges dialogue and decisiveness for electoral reform

“Korean politics are growing more extreme than ever, denouncing and blaming each other,” National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo said at a press conference marking the first year of his inauguration on Tuesday. “In a winner-takes-all system, politics is conducted in a way that encourages concentration of extremist supporters rather than gaining the support of the majority. This leads to extreme confrontation and conflict rather than dialogue and compromise,” he said, urging to revise the election law to reform the electoral system.

Kim said that the National Assembly would finalize the amendment and confirm‎ election districts. “Three months have passed from the district determination as required by law. It is shameful to have lawmakers that do not respect the law. Once negotiations are finalized with the parties’ leadership, we will transfer the negotiation results to the Special Committee on Political Reform on July 17 and run decision-making at the plenary meeting,” the speaker said.

Kim urged to finalize the electoral law revision in his final speech. “We need strong determination that deters us from going back. We look forward to the decisiveness of the leadership,” he added.

Kim pointed out that President Yoon Suk Yeol's administration approach of replying to revising executive decrees has limitations and results in side effects. “If laws need to be revised, they should be changed, even for the purpose of respecting the National Assembly’s legislative power,” he said.


Seong-Taek Jeong neone@donga.com