Ruling and Opposition Parties Agree to Introduce Multi-Member Constituency System in Four Gwangju Districts (Update)

First Introduction in Metropolitan Councils...
Pilot Regions Expanded to 27
Proportional Representation Increased to 14%

The ruling and opposition parties agreed on April 17 to introduce the multi-member electoral district system for the first time in elections for city and provincial council members in four electoral districts in Gwangju Metropolitan City (Dong-gu Nam-gu Gap, Buk-gu Gap, Buk-gu Eul, and Gwangsan-gu Eul).

Yoon Gunyoung, Chair of the National Assembly Special Committee on Political Reform and Subcommittee on Public Official Election Law and Local Electoral District Reorganization. Yonhap News Agency

Cheon Junho, Senior Deputy Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea; Yoo Sangbeom, Senior Deputy Floor Leader of the People Power Party; Yoon Gunyoung, the Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker and ruling party secretary of the National Assembly Special Committee on Political Reform; and Seo Iljun, the People Power Party lawmaker and opposition secretary of the committee, held a meeting at the National Assembly on this day and announced the agreement.

The parties also agreed to expand the number of pilot regions for implementing the multi-member district system in local council elections (for district, city, and county councils) by adding 16 more areas to the 11 electoral districts used in the 2022 National Assembly elections, bringing the total to 27 regions.

As a result of this agreement, the number of pilot regions for the multi-member district system in district, city, and county council elections will increase from the existing 11 to 27. In addition, the proportion of proportional representation seats in city and provincial councils will be raised from 10% to 14% compared to constituency seats, and each party chapter or regional committee will be allowed to have one office.

The multi-member district system is a method in which two or more members are elected from a single constituency, aiming to lower the entry barrier for minority parties into the legislature and to secure political diversity.

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