Ruling and 3 minor opposition parties work to designated electoral reform bill as fast-track
Arirang News
2019-03-12
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South Korea's rival parties remain at odds over a reform bill aimed at overhauling the way elections work in the nation.
The ruling party and three minor opposition blocs have been pushing to fast track the bill by the end of this week, but the main opposition Liberty Korea Party has different ideas in mind.
Kim Mok-yeon reports.
The ruling Democratic Party and three minor opposition parties -- the Bareunmirae Party, the Party for Democracy and Peace and the Justice Party -- gathered on Monday to work on their combined proposal for an electoral reform bill and to discuss a number of bills they want to fast-track this week alongside it.
Speaking to reporters, ruling party floor leader Hong Young-pyo said he and his counterparts had not yet reached a specific agreement but they agreed to meet with their party chairmen as soon as possible to finalize their discussions.
Earlier Monday morning, the floor leaders of the three minor opposition parties agreed to designate the election reform bill as fast-track before March 15th so that it will apply to next year's general elections.
The three parties are seeking to introduce a mixed-member proportional representation system in which parliamentary seats are tied to the percentage of voters' support for different parties.
The ruling party has generally agreed to their proposal but demanded a looser MMP system, under which the total number of parliamentary seats would still be 300, but proportional representation seats would rise to 75 from the current 47.
The minor parties accepted the compromise, unlike the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, which is still strongly against it.
The LKP laid out its own proposal on Sunday, which seeks to reduce the number of parliamentary seats by 10 percent and abolish the proportional representation system.
Despite opposition to their plan, the minor parties are still pushing to fast-track the bill... because with the support of the ruling party, they will have the three-fifths of legislature's votes required to pass it.
Kim Mok-yeon, Arirang news.
The ruling party and three minor opposition blocs have been pushing to fast track the bill by the end of this week, but the main opposition Liberty Korea Party has different ideas in mind.
Kim Mok-yeon reports.
The ruling Democratic Party and three minor opposition parties -- the Bareunmirae Party, the Party for Democracy and Peace and the Justice Party -- gathered on Monday to work on their combined proposal for an electoral reform bill and to discuss a number of bills they want to fast-track this week alongside it.
Speaking to reporters, ruling party floor leader Hong Young-pyo said he and his counterparts had not yet reached a specific agreement but they agreed to meet with their party chairmen as soon as possible to finalize their discussions.
Earlier Monday morning, the floor leaders of the three minor opposition parties agreed to designate the election reform bill as fast-track before March 15th so that it will apply to next year's general elections.
The three parties are seeking to introduce a mixed-member proportional representation system in which parliamentary seats are tied to the percentage of voters' support for different parties.
The ruling party has generally agreed to their proposal but demanded a looser MMP system, under which the total number of parliamentary seats would still be 300, but proportional representation seats would rise to 75 from the current 47.
The minor parties accepted the compromise, unlike the main opposition Liberty Korea Party, which is still strongly against it.
The LKP laid out its own proposal on Sunday, which seeks to reduce the number of parliamentary seats by 10 percent and abolish the proportional representation system.
Despite opposition to their plan, the minor parties are still pushing to fast-track the bill... because with the support of the ruling party, they will have the three-fifths of legislature's votes required to pass it.
Kim Mok-yeon, Arirang news.
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