> Political Parties > About Political Party System > Political Party SystemPolitical Party System
Composition and Establishment of Political Parties
- Composition of Political Party:
- A political party is composed of a central political party located in the capital city and Si/Do parties located in Si/Do districts.
- Establishment of Political Party
- Establishing a political party requires a central political party to be registered with the National Election Commission after it has formed more than 5 Si/Do parties. Each Si/Do party shall have a thousand or more members registered as residents in the corresponding Si/Do districts.
How to Join and Defect from a Political Party
- Join a Political Party
- Joining a political party requires the submission of an application signed or sealed by a person qualified as a member of a political party to Si/Do parties or the Party Formation Committee. In accordance with the Digital Signature Act, an application may also be replaced as an electronic document with a certified digital signature on it.
Those Who Shall Not Be a Member
• Public officials and the teaching staff at all levels of schools except for the following:
President, Prime Minister, State Council members, local council members, heads of the local government,
aides, secretary and personal assistant to the National Assembly members, Policy Research Committee members
within the National Assembly Negotiating Group and faculty members including the presidents, deans, associate
professors, teaching assistants and instructors may join a political party.
• Persons who are equal in status to public officials in accordance with the relevant act
• Foreign nationals
• Public officials and the teaching staff at all levels of schools except for the following:
President, Prime Minister, State Council members, local council members, heads of the local government,
aides, secretary and personal assistant to the National Assembly members, Policy Research Committee members
within the National Assembly Negotiating Group and faculty members including the presidents, deans, associate
professors, teaching assistants and instructors may join a political party.
• Persons who are equal in status to public officials in accordance with the relevant act
• Foreign nationals
- Defection from a Political Party
- - An application for one’s withdrawal from a party shall be submitted to the corresponding Si/Do parties and if this is not feasible, an application shall be submitted to the central party. An application for withdrawal may also be replaced as an electronic document with a certified digital signature on it
Merger of Political Parties
Political parties may merge by resolution from a joint meeting among their representative organs or organs to which the authority of representative organs is delegated.
- Formative Merger of Political Parties
- More than 2 registered political parties may merge into a newly-named party by resolution of their representative organs.
- Absorptive Merger of Political Parties
- More than one political party may merge into other party.
- Merger Procedures
- When a political party intends to merge with another, it should be done by resolution of an authorized representative organ. Political parties seeking to merge with one another shall hold a joint meeting among representative organs or organs to which the authority of the representative organs is delegated to pass a resolution for the merger.
Dissolution of a Political Party
Dissolution of a political party includes registration cancellation resulting from requirements not satisfied, voluntary dissolution, dissolution by decision of the Constitutional Court, etc.
- Examples of Registration Cancellation Resulting from Requirements Not Satisfied
- Where less than 5 Si/Do parties are registered;
- Where the number of members of each Si/Do party does not reach 1,000;
- Where a political party has not participated in the National Assembly elections or elections for heads of the local governments or Si/Do Council members following the termination of term of office for the past 4 years;
- Where a political party has not gained any seat or 2/100 of the total valid votes in the National Assembly elections; and
- Where a political party that has applied for a merger does not abide by a supplement order that should be served within 120 days after the order is issued and no supplement has been made since a supplement order is issued for more than the second time.
- Voluntary Dissolution
- A political party may be dissolved by resolution of its representative organ.
- Dissolution by Decision of the Constitutional Court
- A political party is protected by the nation according to the Constitution and laws, however, the government may file a petition against a political party whose purposes and activities violate the democratic order and as a result, a political party may be dissolved by decision of the Constitutional Court.
