Jung Chun-sang Calls for Lowering Negotiation Group Threshold to 10 Seats

Jung Chun-sang, Secretary General of the Justice Innovation Party, argued on September 16 that the threshold for forming a negotiation group in the National Assembly should be lowered from the current 20 seats to 10. His comments came in response to Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok's proposal to ease the requirement to 15 seats, which he criticized as having "no reform effect." The Justice Innovation Party currently holds 12 seats in the National Assembly.

In a post on Facebook, Jung questioned Kim's rationale for the proposed 15-seat threshold, stating, "If you genuinely care about the vulnerability of progressive forces and want to address it, the requirements for forming a negotiation group must be significantly lowered."

He further pointed out that over 90% of the political party subsidies supported by the National Election Commission go to the two major parties, leaving little opportunity for smaller progressive parties to strengthen their capabilities. "All political and electoral systems in South Korea are designed to favor the two major parties," he noted.

The Justice Innovation Party also issued a statement asserting that its position on normalizing the negotiation group requirement is 10 seats. They argued that the current 20-seat requirement is a remnant of the Yushin regime, which aimed to raise the threshold for negotiation groups. "Returning to the pre-Yushin standard of 10 seats is common sense and the right course of action," they stated.

Additionally, the party clarified that it has not engaged in any official or unofficial discussions with the Democratic Party leadership regarding political reform, solidarity, or unification, nor has there been any proposal from the Democratic Party.

The Justice Innovation Party urged the Democratic Party to institutionalize solidarity and uphold commitments, emphasizing the need for concrete actions such as implementing the previously agreed roundtable declaration, forming a political reform committee, and convening a third roundtable meeting.