National Assembly of the Republic of Korea

National Assembly of South Korea 대한민국 국회 大韓民國國會 Daehan-min-guk Gukhoe
20th National Assembly
Type
Type	Unicameral
Leadership
Speaker	Chung Sye-kyun, Independent Since June 9, 2016
Vice Speaker	Shim Jae-chul, Liberty Korea Since June 9, 2016
Vice Speaker	Park Ju-seon, People's Since June 9, 2016
Structure
Seats	300
Political groups	Government      Democratic (120) Opposition      Liberty Korea (107)      People's (40)      Bareun (20)      Justice (6)      Saenuri (1)      Independents (5) Vacant      Vacant (1)
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Voting system	Parallel voting First-past-the-post (single member constituencies) Party-list proportional representation (national lists)
Last election	13 April 2016
Next election	15 April 2020
Meeting place
National Assembly Building Seoul, South Korea 37°31′55.21″N 126°54′50.66″E / 37.5320028°N 126.9140722°E / 37.5320028; 126.9140722
Website
korea.assembly.go.kr

Government

Opposition

Vacant

Parallel voting

The National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, often shortened to the National Assembly in domestic English-language media, is the 300-memberunicameral national legislature of South Korea. The latest legislative elections were held on 13 April 2016. Single-member constituencies comprise 253 of the assembly's seats, while the remaining 47 are allocated by proportional representation. Members serve four-year terms.

The unicameral assembly consists of at least 200 members according to the South Korean constitution. In 1990 the assembly had 299 seats, 224 of which were directly elected from single-member districts in the general elections of April 1988. Under applicable laws, the remaining seventy-five representatives were elected from party lists. By law, candidates for election to the assembly must be at least thirty years of age. As part of a political compromise in 1987, an earlier requirement that candidates have at least five years' continuous residency in the country was dropped to allow Kim Dae-Jung, who had spent several years in exile in Japan and the United States during the 1980s, to return to political life. The National Assembly's term is four years. In a change from the more authoritarian Fourth Republic and Fifth Republic (1972–80 and 1980–87, respectively), under the Sixth Republic, the assembly cannot be dissolved by the president.

Notes:

The constitution stipulates that the assembly is presided over by a Speaker and two Deputy Speakers, who are responsible for expediting the legislative process. The Speaker and Deputy Speakers are elected in a secret ballot by the members of the Assembly, and their term in office is restricted to two years. The Speaker is independent of party affiliation, and the Speaker and Deputy Speakers may not simultaneously be government ministers.