National Assembly (South Korea) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids National Assembly of the Republic of Korea 대한민국 국회 大韓民國國會 Daehanminguk Gukhoe
21st National Assembly
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
Speaker	Kim Jin-pyo, Independent Since 4 July 2022
Deputy Speaker	Kim Young-joo, Democratic Since 4 July 2022
Deputy Speaker	Chung Woo-taik, People Power Since 10 November 2022
Structure
Seats	300
6 1 1 169 115 7 1
Political groups	Government (115)      People Power (115) Supported by (1)      Independent (1) Opposition (183)      Democratic (169)      Justice (6)      Basic Income (1)      Transition Korea (1)      Independent (6) Vacant (1)      Vacant (1)
Length of term	4 years
Salary	US$128,610
Elections
Voting system	Parallel voting: First past the post (FPTP) (253 seats) Proportional Representation (PR) with 3% electoral threshold (Largest remainder method) (17 seats) Additional member system (30 seats)
Last election	15 April 2020
Next election	17 April 2024 (expected)
Meeting place
Main Conference Room National Assembly Building, Seoul 37°31′55.21″N 126°54′50.66″E / 37.5320028°N 126.9140722°E / 37.5320028; 126.9140722
Website
korea.assembly.go.kr

The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, often shortened to the National Assembly in domestic English-language media, is the 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. The National Assembly has 300 seats, with 253 constituency seats and 47 proportional representation seats; 30 of the PR seats are assigned on additional member system, while 17 PR seats use the parallel voting method.

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

Structure and appointment

The National Assembly Building in Seoul

Speaker

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

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.

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.

Legislative process

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.

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.

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

Allocation of seats within the electoral system. Red and green: parallel voting; 253 FPTP seats and 17 PR seats. Blue: additional member system for 30 seats

The National Assembly has 300 seats, with 253 constituency seats under FPTP and 47 proportional representation seats. With electoral reform taken in 2019, the PR seats apportionment method was replaced by a variation of additional member system from previous parallel voting system, although 17 seats were temporarily assigned under parallel voting in the 2020 South Korean legislative election.

As per Article 189 of Public Official Election Act, the PR seats are awarded to parties that have either obtained at least 3% of the total valid votes in the legislative election or at least 5 constituency seats. The number of seats allocated to each eligible party are decided by a special formula.

Final seats are assigned through the largest remainder method, and if the remainder is equal, the winner is determined by lottery among the relevant political parties.

The voting age was also lowered from 19 to 18 years old, expanding the electorate by over half a million voters.

Gallery

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  Emblem of the National Assembly (1947–2014)

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  Flag of the National Assembly (1947–2014)

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  Flag of the National Assembly (from 2014)

See also

In Spanish: Asamblea Nacional de Corea del Sur para niños