Independent presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo recently proposed reducing the number of parliamentary seats, now set at 300, preferably by 100. He said the money to be saved from the cut, which is estimated to reach up to 100 billion won ($90 million) per year, could be used to help alleviate youth unemployment and work out better policies.
This suggestion, along with his other proposals to cut state subsidies for parties and abolish their central organizations, appears aimed at highlighting his will for political reform and gaining an upper hand over his liberal rival candidate Moon Jae-in in their possible negotiation on unifying their candidacy.
Early this week, Moon also put forward his own measures to reform politics. He called for increasing the number of proportional representative seats in parliament from the current 54 to 100, but fell short of advocating a drastic cut in the number of lawmakers.
Ahn’s proposal has invited criticism from the political establishment for ignoring the reality of politics. But it is partisan clashes, which have often paralyzed the legislature, that have led to growing public calls to reduce the number of parliamentary seats.
Aside from the discontent with the inefficient and costly legislature, it would miss the point to focus only on the number of lawmakers. Ahn should have addressed concrete measures to make the National Assembly more efficient and effective in carrying out its function.
There have been opposing views on the proper number of parliamentary seats.
Some say the advancement of social networks is enabling fewer representatives to collect a wider range of public opinions in a more efficient manner. They also note that Korea has a higher ratio of lawmakers to population than the U.S., Japan and some major developing countries including Brazil and Mexico.
Others suggest the number of lawmakers should be increased to check the growing power of big businesses and large media outlets, which have exercised dominant influence over the economy and the process of opinion forming in the country. A larger legislature will also help put under tighter watch abuse of power and corruption among government agencies and financial institutions, they say, arguing the number of lawmakers in Korea is not too high, especially compared with most European countries.
It will have to take more extensive and in-depth debate to decide on the proper number of lawmakers and the appropriate distribution between directly elected and proportional representative legislators.
In any case, what should not be missed to restore public trust in the legislature are measures to improve its operation ― such as holding sessions throughout the year ― and to abolish excessive benefits and trappings for lawmakers.
