Major parties revert to criticized tactic to boost votes ahead of crucial election
Main opposition leader decides to stick to current proportional system
The chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) said on Monday that the main opposition party will stick to the current electoral system that prompts rival parties to create so-called “satellite parties” fielding candidates for 47 proportional representation seats in the National Assembly.
Following the decision, the DPK and the ruling People Power Party (PPP) will create satellite parties again for the upcoming April 10 general elections. This comes four years after facing criticism during the prior general elections for allegedly exploiting a loophole in the proportional representation system through these satellite parties.
During a press conference in Gwangju, Rep. Lee Jae-myung said the DPK will push the current semimixed member proportional (semiMMP) system for the April 10 general elections, and will create a satellite party for proportional representation seats only.
“We will find the path to victory within the semi-MMP system,” Lee said. “The ruling party has rejected implementing a bill banning satellite parties and is now seeking to hijack the election victory by creating its own. There is no way we can stop them … I apologize for failing to set up a law banning the satellite party system and thus we too have decided to create a satellite party.”
The comments came after heated debates over the electoral system for proportional representation between the current semi-MMP and parallel voting in the upcoming general elections.
Until the previous 20th general elections in 2020, Korea employed a parallel voting system to elect proportional representatives. In this system, voters cast separate ballots for constituency candidates and parties, determining the allocation of 47 proportional seats based on the votes parties received.
Right before the 20th general elections, however, the National Assembly amended the election laws to adopt the semi-MMP system as pushed by the DPK and minor opposition parties.
Under the MMP system, voters cast ballots for both constituency candidates and parties. Party votes are then used to allocate additional proportional seats based on the ratio to the total 300 Assembly seats, compensating for imbalances between the two results and helping minor parties gain more seats in the Assembly. The proportional representation system used in the previous elections is called semi-MMP because it applies the MMP rule for only 30 proportional seats in a 50 percent ratio.
Since the semi-MMP rule results in a smaller number of proportional seats for parties with more constituency seats, the DPK and then-opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP), which is a predecessor of the PPP, created satellite parties to run for proportional seats during the 2020 general elections. The DPK created the Citizens’ Party of Korea and the LKP created the Future Korea Party.
After the election, these satellite parties were merged back into their respective mother parties, sparking criticism that the parties exploited a loophole in the electoral system.
Due to the criticism, the DPK’s factions had heated debates over the two electoral systems, and decided to have its chairman make the final decision.
Regarding the criticism that the DPK is choosing to replicate the previous practice, the party’s chairman passed the buck to the ruling PPP.
“The DPK had to choose between returning to parallel voting or coming up with measures to counter the PPP’s foul play within the semi-MMP system,” Lee said. “Please understand that we at least have to raise a shield.”
The DPK chairman added that the satellite party will be “a comprehensive proportional representation party” that embraces “all political groups that agree with the cause of making the judgment against the Yoon Suk Yeol administration and the progress of history.”
The satellite party is anticipated to be a coalition of a number of minor liberal political groups, such as one led by Basic Income Party Chair Rep. Yong Hye-in, so that it can be a platform for minor liberal politicians to gain a presence in the Assembly.
Last month, Yong proposed the DPK create a satellite party to collectively recommend proportional candidates, and the DPK also showed a positive response. Rep. Yong, the founder of the Basic Income Party, won her proportional seat four years ago as a candidate of the DPK’s satellite party, and returned to her own party after winning her seat.