(LEAD) National Assembly passes electoral reform bill amid opposition lawmakers' protest

All News 19:11 December 27, 2019

(ATTN: UPDATES with details throughout; CHANGES and ADDS photos)

SEOUL, Dec. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's National Assembly on Friday passed an election reform bill to introduce a new proportional representation system and lower the voting age amid fierce protests by opposition lawmakers.

The revision bill has been at the center of a monthslong political spat after the ruling Democratic Party (DP) and smaller opposition parties placed it on a legislative fast track in late April, along with a set of bills to overhaul the prosecution and set up an independent body to probe high-level corruption.

Scuffles erupted at the National Assembly's main hall as lawmakers from the conservative Liberty Korea Party (LKP) occupied the speaker's podium to block the vote on the election law. Speaker Moon Hee-sang exercised his power to restore order and mobilized security guards to control the protesting lawmakers.

National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang (C) bangs the gavel to announce the passage of an electoral reform bill amid protests by Liberty Korea Party lawmakers at the National Assembly on Dec. 27, 2019. (Yonhap)

Moon managed to put the bill to a vote in which a total of 167 lawmakers, just more than half, took part. It received 156 votes in favor, while 10 members opposed it and one abstained.

Moon introduced the motion during a previous extra session on Monday but the LKP blocked it with a filibuster. Under parliamentary rules, the party could not use such obstructive tactics with the same bill on Friday.

Under the revised law, which will come into effect for April parliamentary elections, the number of directly elected seats and proportional representation slots will be unchanged at 253 and 47 in the 300-member National Assembly.

But the method of distribution of PR seats will be changed to better reflect the vote share and boost the presence of minor parties, which have largely been underrepresented in the current scheme.

The new law also includes lowering the legal voting age to 18 from 19.

The LKP earlier announced plans to push for a legal fight if the bill is passed, including submitting a constitutional petition.