National Assembly (South Korea)

This article is about the South Korean Parliament. Not to be confused with the North Korean Supreme People's Assembly.

For other uses, see National Assembly (disambiguation).

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
Political groups	Government (111)   People Power (111) Supported by (3)   Independent (2)   Transition Korea (1) Opposition (182)   Democratic (168)   Justice (6)   Basic Income (1)   Progressive (1)   Hope of Korea (1)   Independent (9)   Vacant (2)
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: Additional member system (30 seats) Largest remainder method (17 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
Website
korea.assembly.go.kr
Footnotes

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

See also: 2020 South Korean legislative election and List of members of the National Assembly (South Korea), 2020–2024

Parties in the 22nd National Assembly

Group	Floor leader	Seats		% of seats
▌Democratic Party	Lee Jae-myung	176		52.31%
▌People Power	Yoon Jae-ok	108		45.73%
▌Green-Justice	Sim Sang-jung	6		1.8%
▌New Future	Kim Jong-min	5		1.5%
▌New Reform	Yang Hyang-ja	4		1.2%
▌Progressive	Kang Sung-hee	1		0.3%
▌Rebuilding Korea Party	Hwang Un-ha	1		0.3%
▌Liberal Unification Party	Hwangbo Seung-hee	1		0.3%
▌Independents		9		3.0%
▌Vacant		3		0.9%
Total		300		100.0%
Notes: Negotiation groups can be formed by 20 or more members.

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 (Template:Lang-ko, 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
• Education Committee
• Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee
• Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee
• National Defense Committee
• Public Administration and Security Committee
• Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee
• Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee
• Trade, Industry, Energy, SMEs and Startups 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

See also: Legislative elections in South Korea

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 following formula:

$$n_{\text{initial}}=\left\lfloor {\frac {(n_{\text{Assembly}}-n_{\text{ineligibles}})\times {\text{PR votes ratio}}-n_{\text{obtained constituencies}}+1}{2}}\right\rfloor$$

where

• n_Assembly = total number of seats in the National Assembly.
• n_ineligibles = number of seats obtained by ineligible parties and independents.
• n_{obtained constituencies} = number of constituency seats obtained by the party.
• n_ams = total number of seats allocated for additional member system.

If the integer is less than 1, then n_initial is set to 0 and the party does not get any seats. Then the sum of initially allocated seats are compared to total seats for additional member system, and recalculated.

$$n_{\text{remainder}}=\left(n_{\text{ams}}-\sum n_{\text{initial}}\right)\times {\text{PR votes ratio}}$$

$$n_{\text{final}}={\begin{cases}n_{\text{initial}}+n_{\text{remainder}},&{\text{if }}\sum n_{\text{initial}}<n_{\text{ams}}\\n_{\text{ams}}\times {\dfrac {n_{\text{initial}}}{\sum n_{\text{initial}}}},&{\text{if }}\sum n_{\text{initial}}>n_{\text{ams}}\end{cases}}$$

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.

Legislative violence

From 2004 to 2009, the assembly gained notoriety as a frequent site for legislative violence. The Assembly first came to the world's attention during a violent dispute on impeachment proceedings for then President Roh Moo-hyun, 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. The National Assembly since then have preventive measures to prevent any more legislative violence.

History

First Republic

See also: First Republic of Korea

Elections for the assembly were held under UN supervision on 10 May 1948. The First Republic of Korea was established on 17 July 1948 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 was to be bicameral and consist of the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors, but in practice the legislature was unicameral because the House of Representatives was prevented from passing the law necessary to establish the House of Councillors.

  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

See also: Second Republic of Korea

House of Representatives	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

House of Councillors	Majority Party		Majority Leader	Seats	President	Seats	Minority Leaders	Minority Parties
5th (1960)		DP (55)		31	Paek Nak-chun (supported by DP (55))	27		Others

Third Republic

See also: Third Republic of Korea

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→DRP→NDP
						13		DP (55)→DRP→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

See also: Fourth Republic of Korea

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	1978–1979 Chung Il-kwon (supported by DRP) 1979 Baek Du-jin (supported by DRP)	61		NDP

Fifth Republic

See also: Fifth Republic of Korea

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

See also: Sixth Republic of South Korea

  majority   plurality   largest minority

Term (Election)	Composition (at commencement)	Speaker	Majority floor leader	Minority floor leader (largest parliamentary group)	Conservative current: PPP	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)	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)	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 (2020–2022) Kim Jin-pyo (2022–present)	Yun Ho-jung (2020–2022) Park Hong-keun (2022–present) (DP14)	Joo Ho-young (2020–2021) Kim Gi-hyeon (2021–2022) Kweon Seong-dong (2022–present) (UFP→PPP)	103	180	6	3	3	5

Members

• List of members of the South Korean Constituent Assembly
• List of members of the National Assembly (South Korea), 1950–1954
• List of members of the National Assembly (South Korea), 1954–1958
• List of members of the National Assembly (South Korea), 1981–1985
• List of members of the National Assembly (South Korea), 1985–1988
• List of members of the National Assembly (South Korea), 1988–1992
• List of members of the National Assembly (South Korea), 1992–1996
• List of members of the National Assembly (South Korea), 1996–2000
• List of members of the National Assembly (South Korea), 2000–2004
• List of members of the National Assembly (South Korea), 2004–2008
• List of members of the National Assembly (South Korea), 2008–2012
• List of members of the National Assembly (South Korea), 2012–2016
• List of members of the National Assembly (South Korea), 2016–2020
• List of members of the National Assembly (South Korea), 2020–2024

Gallery

• 
  Emblem of the National Assembly (1947–2014)
• 
  Flag of the National Assembly (1947–2014)
• 
  Flag of the National Assembly (from 2014)

See also

• List of political parties in South Korea
• Politics of South Korea
• National Assembly TV
• Supreme People's Assembly, the North Korean legislature
• 2019 South Korean Capitol attack

References

• U.S. Library of Congress Country Studies