National Assembly (South Korea)

National Assembly
Korean name
Hangul	대한민국국회
Hanja	大韓民國國會
Revised Romanization	Daehanminguk Gukhoe
McCune–Reischauer	Taehanminguk Kukhoe
National Assembly
Hangul	국회
Hanja	國會
Revised Romanization	Gukhoe
McCune–Reischauer	Kukhoe

National Assembly
of the Republic of Korea

대한민국 국회
大韓民國國會

*Daehan-min-guk Gukhoe*
National Assembly; of the Republic of Korea ; 대한민국 국회; 大韓民國國會; Daehan-min-guk Gukhoe
19th National Assembly
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
Speaker	Chung Ui-hwa, Independent ; since 30 May 2014
Vice Speaker	Jeong Kab-yoon, Saenuri ; since 30 May 2014
Vice Speaker	Lee Seok-hyun, Minjoo ; since 30 May 2014
Structure
Seats	300
Political groups	Government: Saenuri (122); Opposition: Minjoo of Korea (123); People's (38); Justice (6); Independents (11);
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Voting system	Parallel voting:; First-past-the-post (single member constituencies); Party-list proportional representation (national lists)
Last election	13 April 2016
Next election	15 April 2020
Meeting place
	The National Assembly Building at Seoul, in September 2014.; (37°31′55.21″N 126°54′50.66″E / 37.5320028°N 126.9140722°E)
Website
	korea.na.go.kr

The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, often shortened to the National Assembly in domestic English-language media, is the 300-member^[3] unicameral national legislature of South Korea. The latest legislative elections were held on 13 April 2016. Single-member constituencies comprise 253 of the assembly's seats, while the remaining 47 are allocated by proportional representation. Members serve four-year terms.

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

Template:Parties in the South Korean Assembly

Structure and appointment

Speaker

The constitution stipulates that the assembly is presided over by a Speaker and two Deputy Speakers,^[4] 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.^[5] The Speaker is independent of party affiliation, and the Speaker and Deputy Speakers may not simultaneously be government ministers.^[5]

Negotiation groups

Parties that hold at least 20 seats in the assembly form floor negotiation groups (Template:Lang-ko, 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.^[6]

Legislative process

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.^[7]

Committees

There are 16 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, Broadcasing and Communications Committee
Education, 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

Since the promulgation of the March 1988 electoral law, the assembly has been elected every four years through a Supplementary Member system, meaning that some of the members are elected from constituencies according to the system of first past the post, while others are elected at a national level through proportional representation.^[8] As of 2012, 246 members represent constituencies, while 54 were elected from PR lists. In contrast to elections to the Assembly, presidential elections occur once every five years, and this has led to frequent situations of minority government and legislative deadlock.^[9]

Reform proposals

A proposal to lower the number of seats required to form a negotiation group to 15 was passed on 24 July 2000, but was overturned by the Constitutional Court later that month.^[10] 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.^[11]

Legislative violence

From 2004 to 2009, the assembly gained notoriety as a frequent site for legislative violence.^[12] The Assembly first came to the world's attention during a violent dispute on impeachment proceedings for then President Roh Moo-hyun,^[13]^[14] 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.^[15]^[16]^[17]^[18] Images of the melee were broadcast around the world.

History

First Republic

Elections for the assembly were held under UN supervision^[19] on 10 May 1948. The First Republic of South Korea was established on 17 July 1948^[20] 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 became bicameral and consisted of the House of Commons and the Senate, but actually unicameral with the House of Commons because the House of Commons could not pass a bill to establish the Senate.

.

Third Republic

Since the reopen of the National Assembly in 1963 until today, it has been unicameral.

Fourth Republic

Fifth Republic

Sixth Republic

Conservative Liberal Progressive

majority lack majority largest minority

National Assembly	Majority Party		Majority Leader	Seats	Speaker	Seats	Minority Leaders	Minority Parties
13th (1988)	rowspan="3" style="background: Template:Conservative (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	DJP ↓ DLP		125↓ 219	1988–1990 Kim Jae-sun (supported by DJP→DLP) 1990–1992 Park Jyun-kyu (supported by DLP)	70		style="background: Template:Liberal (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	PPD→DP (91)
	59↓ 0						style="background: Template:Conservative (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	RDP merge with DJP 1990
	35↓ 0						style="background: Template:Conservative (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	NDRP merge with DJP 1990

14th (1992)	rowspan="3" style="background: Template:Conservative (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	DLP ↓ NKP		149↓ 119	1992–1993 Park Jyun-kyu (supported by DLP) 1993 Hwang Nak-joo (supported by DP) 1993–1994 Lee Man-sup (supported by DLP) 1994–1996 Park Jyun-kyu (supported by DLP→NKP)	97		style="background: Template:Liberal (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	DP (91)→NCNP
	0↓ 61						style="background: Template:Conservative (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	ULD split from DLP in 1995
	31↓ 0						style="background: Template:Conservative (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	UPP merge with ULD in 1995

15th (1996)	rowspan="3" style="background: Template:Conservative (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	NKP ↓ GNP	1999–2000 Lee Bu-young	139	1996–1998 Kim Soo-han (supported by NKP→GNP) 1998–2000 Park Jyun-kyu (supported by GNP)	79		style="background: Template:Liberal (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	NCNP→MDP
	50						style="background: Template:Conservative (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	ULD
	15						style="background: Template:Conservative (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	UDP (95)→DP (95)

16th (2000)	rowspan="3" style="background: Template:Conservative (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	GNP	2000 Lee Bu-young 2000–2001 Jeon Chang-hwa 2001–2002 Lee Jae-oh 2002–2003 Lee Kyu-taek 2003–2004 Hong Sa-duk	133↓ 150	2000–2002 Lee Man-sup (supported by MDP) 2002–2004 Park Kwan-yong (supported by GNP)	115↓ 73		style="background: Template:Liberal (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	MDP
	0↓ 47					2003–2004 Kim Geun-tae	style="background: Template:Liberal (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	UP split from MDP in 2003
	17↓ 0						style="background: Template:Conservative (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	ULD merge with GNP in 2006

17th (2004)	rowspan="2" style="background: Template:Liberal (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	UP ↓ UDP	2004 Kim Geun-tae (UP) 2004–2005 Chun Jung-bae (UP) 2005–2006 Chung Sye-kyun (UP) 2006–2007 Kim Han-gil (UP) 2007–2008 Chang Young-dal (UP) 2007–2008 Kim Hyo-seuk (UDP)	152	2004–2006 Kim Won-ki (supported by UP) 2006–2008 Lim Chae-jung (supported by UP→UDP)	121	2004 Hong Sa-duk 2004–2005 Kim Deog-ryong 2005–2006 Kang Jae-sup 2006 Lee Jae-oh 2006–2007 Kim Hyong-o 2007–2008 Ahn Sang-soo	style="background: Template:Conservative (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	GNP
17th (2004)	10	UP ↓ UDP		152			style="background: Template:Progressive (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	DLP

18th (2008)	rowspan="4" style="background: Template:Conservative (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	GNP ↓ SP	2008 Ahn Sang-soo 2008–2009 Hong Jun-pyo 2009–2010 Ahn Sang-soo 2010–2011 Kim Moo-sung 2011–2012 Hwang Woo-yea	153	2008–2010 Kim Hyong-o (supported by GNP) 2010–2012 Park Hee-tae (supported by GNP) 2012–2012 Chung Eui-hwa (supported by GNP→SP)	81	2008 Kim Hyo-seuk (UDP) 2008–2009 Won Hye-young (UDP→DP) 2009–2010 Lee Kang-lae (DP) 2010–2011 Park Jie-won (DP) 2011–2012 Kim Jin-pyo (DP→DUP)	style="background: Template:Liberal (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	UDP→DP (08)→DUP
	18					2008–2010 Kwon Sun-taik 2010 Ryu Keun-chan 2010–2011 Kwon Sun-taik 2011–2012 Kim Nak-sung	style="background: Template:Conservative (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	LFP
	5					2008 Kwon Young-ghil (DLP) 2008–2012 Kang Ki-kab (DLP→UPP)	style="background: Template:Progressive (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	DLP→UPP
	14↓ 0					2008–2012 Roh Chul-Lae	style="background: Template:Conservative (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	PPC→FHA merge with SP in 2012

19th (2012)	rowspan="7" style="background: Template:Conservative (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	SP	2012 Hwang Woo-yea 2012–2013 Lee Hahn-koo 2013–2014 Choi Kyoung-hwan 2014–2015 Lee Wan-koo 2015 Yoo Seung-min 2015–present Won Yoo-chul	152↓ 158↓ 160↓ 156↓ 157↓ 146	2012–2014 Kang Chang-hee (supported by SP) 2014–present Chung Ui-hwa (supported by SP)	127↓ 130↓ 111↓ 107↓ 102	2012 Kim Jin-pyo (DUP) 2012 Park Jie-won (DUP) 2012–2013 Park Ki-choon (DUP→DP) 2013–2014 Jun Byung-hun (DP→NPAD) 2014 Park Young-sun (NPAD) 2014 Kim Yung-rok (NPAD) 2014–2015 Woo Yoon-keun (NPAD) 2015–present Lee Jong-kul (NPAD→MPK)	style="background: Template:Liberal (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	DUP→DP (11)→NPAD→MPK
	18↓ 21					2016–present Joo Seung-yong	style="background: Template:Liberal (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	PP split from NPAD in 2016
	5					2012–2013 Kang Dong-won 2013–2015 Sim Sang-jung 2015–present Jeong Jin-hoo	style="background: Template:Progressive (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	JP split from UPP in 2012
	1					2016–present Lee Yoon-seok	style="background: Template:Conservative (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	CLP
	1					2016–present Shin Ki-nam	style="background: Template:Liberal (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	MP
	13↓ 5↓ 0					2012 Kang Ki-kab 2012–2014 Kim Seon-dong 2014 Oh Byung-yun	style="background: Template:Progressive (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	UPP banned in 2014
	5↓ 0					2011–2012 Kim Nak-sung 2012 Sung Woan-jong	style="background: Template:Conservative (South Korea)/meta/color;"\|	LFP→AUP merge with SP in 2012

Members

Template:Lists of South Korean Parliament members

References

U.S. Library of Congress Country Studies

^ Speaker of Assembly can't join in party
^ "2016 제20대 국회의원선거". Naver-KBS. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
^ Article 21, Clause 1 of the Election Law
^ Article 48 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea.
^ ^a ^b Park, Young-Do (2010). "Kapitel 2: Verfassungsrecht". Einführung in das koreanische Recht (in German). Springer. p. 25. ISBN 9783642116032. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)
^ Youngmi Kim (2011). The Politics of Coalition in South Korea. Taylor & Francis, p. 65.
^ Park 2010, p. 27.
^ Aurel S. Croissant, "Electoral Politics of South Korea", in Croissant et al. (2002) Electoral Politics in Southeast and East Asia. Friedrich Ebert Foundation, p. 257.
^ Croissant, p. 257.
^ Y. Kim, p. 68.
^ Y. Kim, pp. 68–9.
^ World's Most Unruly Parliaments
^ South Korean President Impeached
^ Impeachment battle
^ Democracy, South Korean-style: MPs blasted with fire extinguishers after trying to break into Parliament with hoses and sledgehammers
^ South Korea lawmakers: Reaching across the aisle with a sledgehammer
^ South Korean politicians use fire extinguishers against opposition
^ Hall of Violence
^ Setting the Stage
^ ICL – South Korea Index

[1] Speaker of Assembly can't join in party

[2] "2016 제20대 국회의원선거". Naver-KBS. Retrieved 13 April 2016.

[3] Article 21, Clause 1 of the Election Law

[4] Article 48 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea.

[Park_Recht-5] Park, Young-Do (2010). "Kapitel 2: Verfassungsrecht". Einführung in das koreanische Recht (in German). Springer. p. 25. ISBN 9783642116032. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |trans_title= ignored (|trans-title= suggested) (help)

[6] Youngmi Kim (2011). The Politics of Coalition in South Korea. Taylor & Francis, p. 65.

[7] Park 2010, p. 27.

[8] Aurel S. Croissant, "Electoral Politics of South Korea", in Croissant et al. (2002) Electoral Politics in Southeast and East Asia. Friedrich Ebert Foundation, p. 257.

[9] Croissant, p. 257.

[10] Y. Kim, p. 68.

[11] Y. Kim, pp. 68–9.

[12] World's Most Unruly Parliaments

[13] South Korean President Impeached

[14] Impeachment battle

[15] Democracy, South Korean-style: MPs blasted with fire extinguishers after trying to break into Parliament with hoses and sledgehammers

[16] South Korea lawmakers: Reaching across the aisle with a sledgehammer

[17] South Korean politicians use fire extinguishers against opposition

[18] Hall of Violence

[19] Setting the Stage

[20] ICL – South Korea Index

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