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Writer's pictureJenny Song

Korea’s National Assembly Elections and Significance

On Wednesday, April 10, 2024, the 22nd National Assembly election of the Republic of Korea will be held. (April 5 to April 6 are advance voting days so that you can vote in advance.) Since only adults over 18 can vote, the election will be held for those born before April 11, 2006. A total of 300 members of the National Assembly are elected. In addition, through the by-election, two additional district, city, and county mayors, 17 city and provincial council members, and 26 district, city, and county council members will be elected.


If so, wouldn't it be the essential attitude of the people to know exactly what a member of the National Assembly is in the election of National Assembly members and proportional representatives, which are so crucial that all citizens of the country can participate together? As representatives of the people, members of the National Assembly enact or revise laws, review and confirm the national budget, and monitor and control state administration.


The term of office for members of the National Assembly is four years, and they can be reappointed. Therefore, elections for National Assembly members are held once every four years, and the election date is set as the first Wednesday, 50 days before the expiration of the term. Members of the National Assembly are elected directly by the people, and citizens over the age of 18 have the right to vote for members of the National Assembly. However, to be eligible to vote as a local member of the National Assembly, you must be a citizen of 18 years or older and registered as a resident in the local constituency of the member of the National Assembly. Additionally, citizens over the age of 18 have the right to be elected as members of the National Assembly.


Members of the National Assembly include district assembly members and proportional representation members. The people elect local assembly members and proportional representation members through a one-person, two-vote exercise. Local constituency lawmakers use the single-member district system, which elects one representative from one constituency, and the simple majority representation system, where the candidate who receives at least one more vote among the candidates is elected. Proportional Representative National Assembly members are elected nationally through a party-list proportional representation system. The party list-type proportional representation system is a method in which seats are distributed to political parties according to the percentage of votes each party receives, and then the elected candidate is determined based on the rankings listed in the list of candidates for proportional representative members of the National Assembly submitted in advance by each party. As of 2022, the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea has a quota of 300 members, of which 253 are constituency members and 47 are proportional representatives.


Therefore, in order to fairly elect the National Assembly members who handle the above matters, the National Assembly Election Act was enacted on March 16, 1988, which established the National Assembly election system in line with the purpose of the Constitution of the 6th Republic, which was revised on October 29, 1987. It was enacted to do so. This law adopted the basic principles of universal, equal, direct, and secret elections in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and guaranteed freedom of voting and fair elections. In addition, the District Election Commission and the National Election Commission are implementing various systems such as election promotion and candidate registration laws.


Therefore, I think it is our task as students to know exactly what elections are and who the members of the National Assembly are and to exercise our right to vote to create a better society.


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