TK Basic Council Splitting Controversy... "Entrenched Interests Raise the Bar"

Districting Committee's Six-Month Deliberation Overturned by Metropolitan Councils in a Day
Controversy Over Exploitation of Article 24-3 of the Public Official Election Act Due to Lack of Mandatory Provisions
National Election Commission: "Legislative Intent of the Law Must Be Respected"

It has been confirmed that the basic council districts in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province (TK region) have been split into two-member districts, a move referred to as "splitting." The National Election Commission has requested that metropolitan councils (city and provincial councils) respect the districting decisions made by the Local Council Districting Committees to prevent recurrence of such incidents.

According to the National Assembly Special Committee on Political Reform and other sources on April 30, the metropolitan councils in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province arbitrarily split electoral districts, contrary to the original intentions of the Districting Committee. The original plan from the Daegu Districting Committee consisted of four two-member districts, twenty-three three-member districts, eight four-member districts, and one five-member district. However, the Daegu Metropolitan Council changed this to eighteen two-member districts, twenty-three three-member districts, one four-member district, and one five-member district. This change significantly reduced the number of four-member districts, converting many of them into two-member districts.

The North Gyeongsang Provincial Council also split the basic council districts in Pohang. While maintaining the total number of thirty-three seats in Pohang, the council increased the number of two-member districts by reducing the number of council members in three-member districts or by changing district boundaries. As a result, the number of three-member districts in Pohang decreased from nine to five, while the number of two-member districts increased from one to seven.

National Assembly Special Committee on Political Reform. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

According to the Public Official Election Act and related regulations, basic councils are required to establish separate districting committees to prepare districting plans. Based on these plans, metropolitan councils finalize the electoral districts through ordinances. While the National Assembly can accept or request a redistricting of parliamentary constituencies with the approval of at least two-thirds of its members, Article 24-3, Paragraph 6 of the Public Official Election Act merely states that metropolitan councils should "respect" the decisions of the districting committees for basic councils. There is no mandatory provision, so the districting committee's recommendations are not legally binding.

Previously, the Special Committee on Political Reform also expressed concerns about this issue and included an additional opinion in the amendment to the Public Official Election Act, stating, "City and provincial councils should make efforts to actively reflect the intent of the districting plans." However, some metropolitan councils exploited the lack of mandatory provisions to disregard the intentions of the districting committees and the Special Committee on Political Reform regarding the amendments to the election law.

Members of the Democratic Party on the Special Committee on Political Reform commented on this, stating, "The districting plans submitted by the committee are the result of six months of discussions by committee members from various backgrounds, taking into consideration the local population and the number of council seats for each district, and after collecting opinions from each political party and basic council." They emphasized, "Splitting these plans through a rushed, closed-door process in just one day is tantamount to the metropolitan councils disregarding not only the National Assembly but also local residents."

Furthermore, even within the TK region, there were calls to expand multi-member districts, but these were not accepted. Park Seongman, Chair of the North Gyeongsang Provincial Council (People Power Party) and a native of Yeongju, expressed his intention to expand multi-member districts in an interview with a local media outlet on April 23, four days before the plenary session. He stated, "Reducing the number of districts in Yeongju from six to four and electing three members per district could be a solution." During the plenary session on April 27, Chair Park directly submitted a revised proposal to change two Yeongju districts into three-member districts, opposing the splitting amendment proposed by the Administrative Health and Welfare Committee. However, this revision was rejected, and the plan to split the districts was passed.

Democratic Party lawmaker Lim Mi-ae pointed out, "In the case of four-member districts, there is room for minor parties to gain entry, but if these are split into two-member districts, in places like TK or Honam, where a single party has over 50 percent support, it eliminates the possibility for candidates from other parties to be elected."

The National Election Commission, in response to the controversy over splitting, urged, "City and provincial councils that have not yet passed the districting plans should respect the legislative intent of the law."

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