Electoral system for national legislature

Republic of Korea Constitution (1987)

Article 41

41.3 The constituencies of members of the National Assembly, proportional representation and other matters pertaining to National Assembly elections shall be determined by law.

The Republic of Korea has a parallel electoral system, with Majoritarian constituencies and closed list PR. Previously, Korea operated under an SNTV system though interparty negotiations over the electoral system in 1988 led to a switch away from SNTV to its current electoral system.

In 1992, three quarters of seats was elected by plurality in SMCs, while one quarter was allocated proportionally in one national constituency. If one party wins at least half of the popularly elected seats, it is automatically entitled to two thirds of the seats on the national list; if it gains less, the strongest party is still awarded half of the national list seats.