Political Reform and National Assembly Reform

『Political Reform and National Assembly Reform: Reflections and Prospects from the Field』 is a compilation of thematic reorganizations of the contents from the 'Guest Lecture Seminar' conducted by the EAI Political Reform Research Team for two months from April 2003. The EAI Political Reform Research Team aimed to comprehensively analyze the theoretical and empirical discussions on political reform and consolidate them into a coherent alternative. The testimonies and advice from former and current members of the National Assembly and the executive branch who attended the weekly seminars, along with the discussions held with them, played a crucial role in incorporating empirical discussions stemming from real-world politics into theoretical approaches to political reform.

Table of Contents

Part 1 Political Reform

Chapter 1 Direction and Model Building for Reform

Prerequisites for National Assembly Reform | Park Kwan-yong

Establishing the Correct Consciousness for Reform | Kim Moon-soo

Building a Reform Model | Huh Hwa-pyeong

Chapter 2 Party Reform

Party Reform After Democratization | Lee Hae-chan

The Core of Political Reform: Party Reform | Huh Hwa-pyeong

Establishing a Model for Party Reform | Internal Committee Discussion

Balance in Party Reform | Nam Jae-hee

Subdivision of Political Parties | Kim Moon-soo

The Necessity of Bottom-Up Nomination | Yang Sang-hoon

Chapter 3 Reform of the Electoral System and Political Funding System

Interconnectedness of Electoral System Reforms | Lim Jwa-soon

Reform of the Electoral District System | Kim Moon-soo

Expansion of the Proportional Representation System | Nam Jae-hee

Strengthening Penalties for Election Law Violations | Lee Hae-chan

Changes in the Election Environment | Kyung Yoon-ho

Limitations of Institutional Reform | Yang Sang-hoon

Part 2 Checks and Balances of the National Assembly

Chapter 4 The National Assembly and the President

Restoring the Autonomy of the National Assembly | Park Kwan-yong

Presidential Control over the National Assembly | Huh Hwa-pyeong

Balance Between Centrifugal and Centripetal Forces | Nam Jae-hee

The National Assembly and the Blue House | Lee Kang-rae

Chapter 5 The National Assembly and Political Parties

Securing the Autonomy of the National Assembly from Political Parties | Park Kwan-yong

Reducing the Authority of Political Parties in Assembly Operations | Internal Committee Member (Kim Min-jeon)

Becoming a Parliamentary Party 1 | Cho Soon-hyung

Becoming a Parliamentary Party 2 | Kim Moon-soo

Activating Cross-Voting | Yang Sang-hoon

Chapter 6 The National Assembly and Civil Society Organizations and the Media

Restoring the Right to Fair Evaluation | Yang Sang-hoon

Problems in Media Reporting on the National Assembly | Park Kwan-yong

The National Assembly and Civil Society Organizations | Lee Hae-chan

The National Assembly and Civil Society | Internal Committee Discussion

Part 3 Operations, Roles, and Responsibilities of the National Assembly

Chapter 7 Operations and Organization of the National Assembly

Securing Leadership for the Speaker of the National Assembly | Park Kwan-yong

Strengthening the Role of the National Assembly Leadership | Cho Soon-hyung

Restoring the Authority of the National Assembly | Kim Moon-soo

Measures to Enhance the Functions of the National Assembly | Lee Hae-chan

Strengthening the Professionalism of National Assembly Support Organizations | Jung Ho-young

Expanding National Assembly Support Organizations | Yang Sang-hoon

Enhancing the Professionalism and Accountability of Aides | Kyung Yoon-ho

Making the National Assembly Permanent | Internal Committee Member (Kim Min-jeon)

Chapter 8 Legislative Function

Legislative Activities of the National Assembly | Cho Soon-hyung

Problems in the Current Legislative Process | Choo Byung-jik

Improving the Professionalism of Legislative Activities | Huh Hwa-pyeong

The Necessity of Expanding Legislative Support Institutions | Park Kwan-yong

Chapter 9 Budget Review and Resolution Function

Restoration of the National Assembly's Budgetary Authority 1 | Huh Hwa-pyeong

Restoration of the National Assembly's Budgetary Authority 2 | Yang Sang-hoon

Inefficiency of the National Assembly's Budgetary Operation System | Choo Byung-jik

Limitations of Budget-Related Bills | Kim Jeong-guk

Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in the United States | Jeff Holland

Chapter 10 The Ethics of National Assembly Members

Roles and Responsibilities of National Assembly Members | Soon-hyung Cho

Enhancing the Ethics of National Assembly Members | Sang-hoon Yang

Enhancing the Status of the Ethics Committee 1 | Kwan-yong Park

Enhancing the Status of the Ethics Committee 2 | Jae-hee Nam

Authors

Kyung Yun-ho

Graduated from the Department of German Language and Literature, Busan National University, and holds a Master's degree in Modern Korean History from Busan National University Graduate School and graduated from Yonsei University Graduate School of Communication and Advertising. Served as Vice President of the Graduate Student Association, Editor-in-Chief of the Graduate Student Newspaper, and Aide to Presidential Candidate Lee Hoi-chang. Currently serves as an aide to National Assembly Member Nam Kyung-pil of the Grand National Party and a steering committee member of the Youth Alliance for the Future.

Book: A Study on the Nature of the Joseon Revolutionary Party

Kim Moon-soo

Graduated from the Department of Business Administration, Seoul National University. Served as Union President of Dorco, labor/civic activist, Deputy Secretary-General of the Grand National Party, Secretary-General, Chairman of the Planning Committee, Member of the National Assembly's Environment and Labor Committee, Member of the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, and Secretary of the Special Committee on Unemployment Measures. Currently a member of the 16th National Assembly (National Assembly Special Committee on Administration and Public Affairs) and President of the National Assembly's Public Welfare Political Research Association.

Kim Jeong-guk

Graduated from the Department of Business Administration, Seoul National University. Served as Section Chief for Budget System, Budget Policy, and Overall Budget at the Economic Planning Board; Economic Education Planning Officer at the Economic Planning Board; Budget Review Officer; Director of the Fair Trade Commission's Fair Trade Bureau; Director-General of the Balanced Regional Development Planning Group at the Presidential Secretariat; Visiting Researcher at the East-West Center in Hawaii; Economic Secretary to the President; First Deputy Minister for Budget at the Ministry of Finance and Economy; and Standing Advisor at Samil PwC. Currently a visiting professor at the College of Commerce, Busan National University; Standing Auditor of the Dasan Cultural Foundation; and Chairman of the Korea Information and Communications Technology Association.

Nam Jae-hee

Graduated from the College of Law, Seoul National University. Served as a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University, USA; Editorial Writer for the Chosun Ilbo; Director of the Seoul Shinmun; Member of the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th National Assemblies; Chairman of the Policy Committee of the Democratic Justice Party; Party Affairs Committee Member of the Democratic Liberal Party; Chairman of the National Assembly Ethics Committee; Member of the Presidential Transition Committee; Minister of Labor; Party Affairs Committee Member of the New Korea Party; and Visiting Professor at Honam University. Currently a member of the Development Promotion Committee of the Korean Journalists Association.

Books: Writing on Sand, An Apology for Politicians, Onion and Lotus, Working People and Policy, Student Power (co-authored)

Park Kwan-yong

Graduated from the Department of Political Science, Dong-A University, and holds a graduate degree from Hanyang University. Served as a member of the 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, and 16th National Assemblies (Busan Dongnae); Representative for Inter-Korean National Assembly Talks; Basic Committee Member for Constitutional Revision in the National Assembly; Chief of Staff to the President; Political Special Advisor; Secretary-General of the New Korea Party; Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade; and Acting Leader of the Grand National Party. Currently serves as Speaker of the National Assembly.

Books: Propaganda Warrior, Understanding the Unification Issue, Running Towards the Dawn of Unification, Shock and Crisis: Is There a National Crisis Management Program?, My Life, My Dream, and Unification

Yang Sang-hoon

Graduated from the Department of Industrial Engineering, Seoul National University. Served as a reporter for the social, economic, and political departments of the Chosun Ilbo; Deputy Chief of the Political Department; covered the Democratic Liberal Party, the former Democratic Party, the Grand National Party, and the Democratic Party; and served as Head of the National Assembly and Political Desk. Currently serves as an editorial writer for the Chosun Ilbo.

Lee Kang-rae

Graduated from the Department of Public Administration, Myongji University, and holds a Ph.D. in Public Administration from Seoul National University. Served as Director of Planning and Coordination at the National Intelligence Service; Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Presidential Secretariat; and Special Advisor for Planning to Roh Moo-hyun, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate in the 16th presidential election. Currently a member of the 16th National Assembly (Namwon, Sunchang) and a member of the Special Committee on Administration and Public Affairs and the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts.

Lee Hae-chan

Graduated from the Department of Sociology, Seoul National University. Imprisoned for the 'Student Movement Alliance Incident' and the 'Kim Dae-jung Rebellion Conspiracy Case'; served as a member of the 13th, 14th, and 15th National Assemblies; Deputy Mayor of Seoul for Political Affairs; Minister of Education; Chairman of the Policy Committee of the Millennium Democratic Party; Supreme Council Member; and Head of the delegation to China for President-elect Roh Moo-hyun. Currently a member of the 16th National Assembly and Chairman of the Korean Parliamentary League for Children, Population, and Environment.

Books: On the Path of Democracy and Unification, Environmental Politics of the World (translation), The Gwangju Uprising (co-authored)

Lim Jwa-soon

Graduated from the College of Law, Konkuk University, and holds a Master's degree in Public Policy from Sungkyunkwan University Graduate School of Public Administration. Served as Director of Election Management and Deputy Secretary-General of the National Election Commission. Currently serves as Secretary-General of the National Election Commission.

Jeong Ho-young

Graduated from the Department of English Education, Seoul National University, holds a Master's degree in Economics from Yonsei University, and has completed doctoral coursework in Economics at Chung-Ang University. Served as a legislative officer in the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee; legislative official at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the United States; review officer for the National Assembly's Finance and Economy Committee; Director of the Office of Budget and Legislation; Chief Legislative and Budget Officer; and Senior Expert Officer (Vice Minister level) in the National Assembly's Steering Committee. Currently serves as the Librarian of the National Assembly Library (Vice Minister level).

Books: Theory of National Assembly Law, Introduction to the Revised National Assembly Law, Parliamentary Procedures in the United States, Manual for National Assembly Inspection Procedures

Cho Soon-hyung

Graduated from the College of Law, Seoul National University. Served as a member of the 11th, 12th, 14th, and 15th National Assemblies; Co-Representative of the Hankyoreh Democratic Party; Supreme Council Member of the United Liberal Democrats; Special Committee Member for Political Affairs Review in the National Assembly; Chairman of the National Assembly Education Committee; Member of the Special Committee on Political Reform; Vice Chairman of the Party Affairs Committee; Chairman of the Political Reform Promotion Committee; and Co-Chairman of the Central Election Control Committee. Currently a member of the 16th National Assembly and Senior Advisor to the Democratic Party.

Choo Byung-jik

Graduated from the Department of Social Education, Kyungpook National University, and holds a Master's degree in Housing Administration from the University of Birmingham, UK.

Served as Construction Attaché at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; Non-Standing Director of the Korea Land Corporation; Director-General of Planning and Management at the Ministry of Construction and Transportation; Deputy Minister for Planning and Management at the Ministry of Construction and Transportation; and 8th Vice Minister of Construction and Transportation.

Huh Hwa-pyung

Graduated from the Korea Military Academy (17th class) and the Army College. Retired as Brigadier General in the Army; served as Aide to the Presidential Secretariat; Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Presidential Secretariat; Senior Researcher at The Heritage Foundation in the United States; and member of the 14th and 15th National Assemblies. Currently serves as Director of the Hyundai Society Research Institute.

Books: Huh Hwa-pyung, Even Crooked Paths Lead Straight, The Crisis of Leadership

Jeff Holland(Jeff Holland)

Graduated from the Department of Economics, University of Maryland, USA, and holds a Master's degree in Public Administration from Carnegie Mellon University, USA. Currently serves as Director of the Budget Analysis Division at the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) in the United States.

Editor

Lee Yoon-jung

EAI Researcher. Graduated from the Department of Western History, Korea University, and is pursuing graduate studies in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Korea University.

For the convenience of readers, parts of the manuscript of this book are being made public.