The number of local council members — both metropolitan and basic — to be elected in South Korea's June 3 local elections this year will increase by 80 from the 2022 quota, following the introduction of multi-member districts and an expansion of proportional representation seats.
The National Assembly passed the revised Public Official Election Act during a plenary session Tuesday, with 184 votes in favor, 4 against and 25 abstentions out of 213 lawmakers present. The revision adjusts portions of the election method for metropolitan and basic council members. Compared with the 2022 quota, 55 metropolitan council seats (both district and proportional) and 25 basic council seats (both district and proportional) will be added, for a total of 80 new seats.
Under the revision, four parliamentary districts in Gwangju — Dongnam-A, Buk-A, Buk-B and Gwangsan-B — will be designated as multi-member districts. Each of these districts will elect three to four metropolitan council members. It marks the first time a multi-member district system has been introduced in metropolitan council elections.
The revision also raises the share of proportional representation seats on metropolitan councils. Previously, proportional seats were set at 10 percent of district-based metropolitan council seats, but starting with this election, the ratio will rise to 14 percent. As a result, the number of proportional metropolitan council members will increase by 29 (based on this year's district seat quota). Compared with the number of proportional seats filled in the previous local elections, the increase reaches 30.
The National Assembly also passed a revision to the Political Parties Act that allows party member councils or regional committees to operate one office each, to facilitate the smooth running of local party sub-organizations. The change legally permits non-lawmakers, including figures outside the National Assembly, to operate local sub-organization offices of political parties.
Minor opposition parties strongly protested the passage of the revisions to the Public Official Election Act and the Political Parties Act, calling them the result of a tacit agreement between the two major parties to preserve their vested interests. Ahead of the plenary session, four progressive-leaning parties — the Rebuilding Korea Party, the Progressive Party, the Basic Income Party and the Social Democratic Party — held a joint press conference, saying, "The two major parties, the Democratic Party and the People Power Party, ultimately chose a backroom deal to protect vested interests instead of political reform." They also criticized the provision allowing non-lawmaker district chairs to operate local party sub-organization offices, calling it "a revival of local party chapters."
