Lawmakers pass a law revision at a plenary session of the National Assembly on Yeouido, Seoul, in this Dec. 28 file photo. Yonhap

By Nam Hyun-woo

Heated debates arose at the National Assembly after President Yoon Suk-yeol floated the idea of altering Korea's electoral system to introduce multiple representatives for electoral districts.

Parties are struggling to find alignment as each lawmaker has their own interests depending on their constituencies and political stature, lowering the chances of seeing drastic changes in the upcoming 2024 general election.

"We need to consider strengthening the representative nature (of elections) by using an electoral district system with multiple representatives per constituency," Yoon said in an interview published by Chosun Ilbo newspaper on Monday.

"Since the current single-member district election results in an all-or-nothing outcome, elections get overheated, aggravating partisan divides and conflicts between people."

He suggested constituencies elect two to four representatives each depending on their attributes.

National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo provided momentum for Yoon's idea, saying he is planning to "fix the rules for next year's general elections no later than mid-March" and propose multiple plans to a special committee on political reforms.

Currently, Korea uses a single-member district system, in which a constituency elects a single representative. Since it is a winner-takes-all system, it embodies the risk of failing to represent those who didn't vote for the winner. Also, it has been argued that the system only strengthens the presence of the two major parties.

For example, during the general elections in 2020, the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) garnered 49.9 percent of the total votes, but gained seats in 163 out of 253 constituencies, or 64.4 percent. The United Future Party, the predecessor of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), gained 41.5 percent of the total votes, but won only in 84 constituencies.

Hypothetically, a system allowing multiple candidates to be elected for a single constituency would allow the voices of those who voted for the No. 2 or 3 candidates to be represented. Also, candidates from minor parties have better odds of getting elected.

This, however, also has some shortcomings, because the No. 1 candidate who wins 90 percent of votes will have the same influence as the No. 2 candidate who won only 10 percent. Also, some argue that this will only promote the two-party system further, because major parties will likely forward multiple candidates to a single constituency.

During last year's June 1 local elections, Korea tested a multiple-representative system in electing municipal council members in 30 out of 1,030 constituencies. Out of 109 winners, however, 105 were from either the PPP or the DPK, and only four were from minor opposition parties.

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