'Consolidated Electoral District' Kim Myeong-yeon and Lee Yang-su Strongly Oppose... Min Tong-mo Also Rejects

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyemin] The Constituency Delimitation Committee under the National Election Commission submitted a constituency delimitation plan for the April general election to the National Assembly on the 3rd, sparking strong opposition from lawmakers representing districts targeted for consolidation. The Democratic United Lawmakers Group, based in Honam, also rejected the plan, stating it is "absolutely unacceptable."

Lee Yang-su, a member of the Future United Party representing Sokcho City, Goseong County, and Yangyang County in Gangwon Province, issued a statement on the day, saying, "This is the worst gerrymandering in history (the act of drawing electoral districts to favor a specific party or individual) and is absolutely unacceptable." According to the delimitation plan, Lee’s constituency will be merged such that Sokcho City and Goseong County will be combined with Cheorwon County, Hwacheon County, Yanggu County, and Inje County, while Yangyang County will be merged with Gangneung City.

He criticized the plan as "the worst deformed electoral district adjustment never seen historically," adding, "Delimiting electoral districts solely based on population numbers is a practice that goes against regional decentralization and balanced development." He further stated, "The people of Gangwon Province feel a sense of emptiness and great alienation due to this unreasonable delimitation, and this is now at an intolerable level."

Lee explained, "Gangwon Province uniquely has two deformed electoral districts that include five cities and counties each, with areas more than 10 times and 8.4 times larger than Seoul, respectively," and added, "The average jurisdictional area per lawmaker exceeds 400 times that of the Seoul area."

He emphasized, "If six cities and counties are combined, it will severely damage regional representation and completely disregard culture, sentiment, and living areas," warning, "The large jurisdictional area will make it difficult to gather public opinion, and the resulting harm will be directly passed on to residents." In fact, in Gangwon Province, while the number of electoral districts in Chuncheon has increased, the total number of districts remains the same, resulting in a giant electoral district covering six areas: Sokcho City, Cheorwon County, Hwacheon County, Yanggu County, Inje County, and Goseong County.

Lee stated, "Gangwon Province must not be made a political scapegoat again," and criticized, "Claiming this is the best unavoidable plan to minimize adjustments is merely a justification that sacrifices the province." He strongly urged, "We demand the immediate withdrawal of this artificially worst gerrymandering and call for renegotiations," warning, "If electoral districts are arbitrarily delineated, it will face overwhelming resistance."

Kim Myung-yeon, a member of the same party representing Ansan Danwon Gap in Gyeonggi Province, also opposed the consolidation of the Ansan electoral district, demanding its immediate withdrawal. He criticized, "The National Election Commission has proven itself to be a subcontracting agency of the ruling party by accepting the secret collusion between the Democratic Party and the Minsaeng Party without law or principle," calling it "an unconstitutional delimitation that sacrifices the citizens of Ansan solely to protect Honam seats and the constituencies of specific politicians."

Kim raised his voice, saying, "Ansan is a region where neither the population lower nor upper limits apply, yet it is classified as a consolidation target, which is an unacceptable result of political collusion."

The Democratic United Lawmakers Group, based in Honam, also expressed opposition. Jang Jeong-sook, the chief deputy representative, criticized, "The delimitation plans for Jeonnam and Gangwon regions violate Article 25, Paragraph 2 of the Public Official Election Act, which preserves agricultural, fishing, and rural electoral districts, making them illegal and extremely unreasonable for preparing and conducting normal elections." She added, "Especially in Jeonnam, the agreement among negotiation groups to minimize changes to electoral districts was ignored, and many areas already have confirmed candidates from each party, which will cause significant political confusion."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.