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Lawmakers under fire for acting quickly on their own interests while idling on other bills
Public criticism mounted Tuesday against lawmakers after they voted through a deal to increase the number of parliamentary seats to 300 from the current 299.
On Monday, the National Assembly passed a revision of electoral district plans that called for creating three new constituencies while eliminating an existing two only for the next parliament. With the one-seat increase, the number of lawmakers to be selected through the April 11 parliamentary elections rose to 300, the highest in the country’s legislative history.
“It is blatant ignorance of public opinion, which weighs heavily in the direction of a cut (in the number of parliamentary seats),” Seoul-based civic group Citizens United for Better Society said in a statement.
On online bulletin boards, netizens vented their anger at lawmakers who they claim are swift on matters of their own interests while idle on a score of other important bills.
“Isn’t our parliament a perfect example of a high-cost and low-efficiency organization? Had they decided to cut its seats by half, I wouldn’t have been fully satisfied,” a netizen wrote on a debate forum operated by Daum, a local web portal.
In Korea, parliamentarians are criticized for their failure to handle bills in time and through negotiations and compromises, while bent on partisan bickering.
President Lee Myung-bak also holds a negative view, his aides said, although he had to endorse it to avoid any further delay in preparations for the April election, already well behind schedule.
“The president showed a fairly negative reaction to it,” a presidential aide said, before the Cabinet approved Tuesday morning the new revised electoral district plan.
Lee is likely disappointed that the legislators, while voting through the measure despite public opposition, did not act on his defense reform proposal and other important bills, the aide said.
In fact, the Assembly on Monday failed to handle a score of pending bills, including one to deter violence on the parliamentary floor and another to allow the sale of over-the-counter drugs in supermarkets.
According to the National Assembly Secretariat, an average Korean lawmaker costs taxpayers 3.2 billion won ($2.8 million) for four years of his or her term. The amount includes their salary, allowances and other expenditures spent for staff, travel, office and so on.
Currently, each member of the country’s unicameral parliament represents a population of 162,000 on average. The figure rises to 260,000 in neighboring Japan and 700,000 in the U.S.
The Assembly quota has stayed at 299 since 1988, except the 2000-2004 period when it was 273.
Politicians didn’t first float the idea of 300 lawmakers.
It was none other than the National Election Commission, under the time pressure for the upcoming election, which proposed to rival political parties that the parliament have 300 seats only for the next four-year term.
The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party failed to reach a compromise on defining electoral districts for the past three months. By law, electoral constituencies must be fixed six months prior to a vote to allow sufficient time for preparations.
By Lee Sun-young
(milaya@heraldcorp.com)
Public criticism mounted Tuesday against lawmakers after they voted through a deal to increase the number of parliamentary seats to 300 from the current 299.
On Monday, the National Assembly passed a revision of electoral district plans that called for creating three new constituencies while eliminating an existing two only for the next parliament. With the one-seat increase, the number of lawmakers to be selected through the April 11 parliamentary elections rose to 300, the highest in the country’s legislative history.
“It is blatant ignorance of public opinion, which weighs heavily in the direction of a cut (in the number of parliamentary seats),” Seoul-based civic group Citizens United for Better Society said in a statement.
On online bulletin boards, netizens vented their anger at lawmakers who they claim are swift on matters of their own interests while idle on a score of other important bills.
“Isn’t our parliament a perfect example of a high-cost and low-efficiency organization? Had they decided to cut its seats by half, I wouldn’t have been fully satisfied,” a netizen wrote on a debate forum operated by Daum, a local web portal.
In Korea, parliamentarians are criticized for their failure to handle bills in time and through negotiations and compromises, while bent on partisan bickering.
President Lee Myung-bak also holds a negative view, his aides said, although he had to endorse it to avoid any further delay in preparations for the April election, already well behind schedule.
“The president showed a fairly negative reaction to it,” a presidential aide said, before the Cabinet approved Tuesday morning the new revised electoral district plan.
Lee is likely disappointed that the legislators, while voting through the measure despite public opposition, did not act on his defense reform proposal and other important bills, the aide said.
In fact, the Assembly on Monday failed to handle a score of pending bills, including one to deter violence on the parliamentary floor and another to allow the sale of over-the-counter drugs in supermarkets.
According to the National Assembly Secretariat, an average Korean lawmaker costs taxpayers 3.2 billion won ($2.8 million) for four years of his or her term. The amount includes their salary, allowances and other expenditures spent for staff, travel, office and so on.
Currently, each member of the country’s unicameral parliament represents a population of 162,000 on average. The figure rises to 260,000 in neighboring Japan and 700,000 in the U.S.
The Assembly quota has stayed at 299 since 1988, except the 2000-2004 period when it was 273.
Politicians didn’t first float the idea of 300 lawmakers.
It was none other than the National Election Commission, under the time pressure for the upcoming election, which proposed to rival political parties that the parliament have 300 seats only for the next four-year term.
The ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition Democratic United Party failed to reach a compromise on defining electoral districts for the past three months. By law, electoral constituencies must be fixed six months prior to a vote to allow sufficient time for preparations.
By Lee Sun-young
(milaya@heraldcorp.com)
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Articles by Korea Herald
