[After the Audit] ① Battle for Results... Lawmakers Fret Over "Report Cards" Even After Audit Ends

Editor's NoteThe 2026 National Assembly audit, a stage on which lawmakers demonstrate the results of their legislative activities, has come to a close. In a three-part series, we examine the audit's achievements and challenges and consider the direction Korean politics should take.

With the 2026 National Assembly audit over, lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition parties are closely watching their audit "report cards." Performance during the audit is directly linked to expanding a lawmaker's political base. It can raise their public profile and strengthen their political competitiveness. Audit results could also affect the nomination process ahead of the 23rd general election for National Assembly members, scheduled for April 2028.

Yonhap News Agency

According to political sources on November 4, the Democratic Party of Korea's Floor Administration Bureau will collect basic materials from its lawmakers from November 9 to 11 for selecting outstanding performers in the audit. The aim is to recognize lawmakers who set an example during the National Assembly audit. The materials to be submitted include audit activity reports, records of media coverage, attendance records, and policy publications.

The Democratic Party of Korea has set out specific guidelines. Audit activity reports must include an overall assessment of activities on standing committees and proposals on systems and policies concerning the institutions under audit. The media coverage record must include 10 major reports from media outlets registered with the party's Public Relations Bureau. Only one policy publication issued during the audit period will be recognized.

In addition to these quantitative indicators, the party will also conduct a "multidimensional evaluation." Lawmakers, one aide from each lawmaker's office, and officials from the Floor Administration and Planning Office and the Policy Office will take part. The aim is to assess not only the number of questions asked or the volume of media coverage, but also policy achievements, colleagues' assessments, and each lawmaker's diligence.

The People Power Party selects outstanding lawmakers with a focus on standing committee secretaries. A committee secretary discusses recommendations with the party's experts, after which selections are made in consultation with the floor leadership. The party considers information such as attendance, questions, media coverage, and evaluations by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), while also taking qualitative factors, including the substance of questions and achievements, into account.

Separately, the party's Policy Committee is collecting materials from lawmakers' offices through November 4 to produce a white paper on the National Assembly audit. The white paper will compile and publish key questions raised by each lawmaker and their achievements. This year, lawmakers are also required to submit 15-second short-form videos, which will be used to produce a video summarizing their audit activities.

An opposition party floor official said, "We don't compile an overall ranking, but we refer to various data in addition to attendance, questions, and media coverage," adding, "Lawmakers also pay a lot of attention to it." An official in the office of a standing committee secretary said, "The atmosphere isn't as competitive as it is in the ruling party," but noted that "qualitative factors tend to carry considerable weight."

For that reason, both ruling and opposition lawmakers are keenly interested in their audit performance and how it is evaluated. Strong audit performance does not guarantee a party nomination, but records of activity during this period can serve as basic materials for evaluating incumbent lawmakers in future general elections.

The evaluation of incumbent lawmakers by both major parties ahead of the 22nd National Assembly election reflects this atmosphere. Under the Democratic Party of Korea's "Rules for Evaluating Incumbent Lawmakers" in effect at the time, 380 of the total 1,000 points were allocated to the "legislative activity" category. Selection as an outstanding performer in the National Assembly audit was one of the criteria in that category.

The People Power Party also included "contribution to the party" as a factor worth 20% in its evaluation criteria for incumbent lawmakers, finalized while Jang Dong-hyeok was serving as secretary-general. Audit performance was included in the contribution assessment. Both parties have previously penalized lawmakers in the bottom 10% of their evaluations through point deductions or exclusion from nomination, leaving lawmakers with little room to relax.

As a result, lawmakers from both parties are sensitive to their performance. A Democratic Party of Korea official said, "Even after the audit ends, aides can't take a break because they have to submit evaluation materials," adding, "During the audit, each lawmaker's office competes to secure 10 major media reports, including exclusive stories. The pressure is especially intense for first- and second-term lawmakers."

A People Power Party lawmaker also said, "Even when we ask questions that elicit important answers during the audit, the resulting coverage tends to focus on the heads of the institutions under audit or remarks by lawmakers with high public profiles. That is a real concern," adding, "I also wonder whether I should frame my questions so they can be easily used in short-form videos."

There are also concerns about unintended consequences. An opposition party official said, "The problem is that people end up having to focus on the volume of media coverage and the number of views for short-form videos to show results." A ruling party official said, "Since evaluators ask lawmakers to submit materials instead of directly observing their activities, the process becomes evaluation for evaluation's sake." The official added, "There are also instances of reciprocal favorable ratings in the multidimensional evaluation, with lawmakers giving one another good reviews. This can lead to personal connections and socializing becoming more important than results."

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