National Assembly Data Analysis: The Seven Independents Split Left and Right

The Seven Independents Were Not One Bloc

The ideological map of the seven independent lawmakers stretches quite widely from left to right. The label 'independent' fails to capture the differences in temperature among them. A quantitative analysis produced by a machine reading the records of bill sponsorship and voting found that, within the same independent label, economic and social leanings diverged sharply.

What is interesting is the direction of the distribution. The average of the seven falls to the left of center on economics and close to center on social issues. This can be interpreted as independents reflecting their background. Since most of them hail from the Democratic Party or were politicians of the opposition camp, their leanings as revealed in legislation still tilt toward the progressive side even after losing party affiliation.

Those Standing at Both Ends

The lawmaker positioned furthest left is Kang Seon-woo. Across both economic and social axes, he recorded the most progressive coordinates among the seven. He was followed in order by Kim Jong-min, Lee Chun-seok, and Choi Hyuk-jin. These four are positioned at or to the left of the Democratic Party average even within the independent group — proof that leaving a party does not mean a change of leanings.

At the opposite end sits Cho Jeong-sik. He was the only one in the independent group to record right-leaning coordinates, landing center-right on both economic and social axes. Jang Kyung-tae stood almost exactly at the midpoint. Kim Byung-gi and Choi Hyuk-jin were analyzed as being on the left, but only moderately so — relatively centrist positions.

It is a landscape difficult to group into a single bloc. The gap between the most progressive, Kang Seon-woo, and the most conservative, Cho Jeong-sik, is wide enough to rival the internal divides within the two major parties. In other words, the independents are not a third force but a vessel encompassing both left and right.

Who Defected From Party Lines the Most?

The past voting behavior of lawmakers who abandoned their party affiliation is also intriguing. The highest rates of voting against the party line were recorded by Choi Hyuk-jin at 0.7%, Jang Kyung-tae at 0.6%, and Lee Chun-seok and Kim Jong-min at 0.5% each. These figures show that they had a tendency to keep their distance from party leadership even while still members. Their departures were likely not sudden events but extensions of defection records already accumulated.

That said, the limits of this metric are clear. Because leanings are measured solely through sponsorship and voting behavior, the results can diverge from the image or rhetoric imprinted on the public. It means the hand casting a vote on a bill and the voice speaking into a microphone may tell different stories.

Numbers Leave the Footprints of the Assembly

The core message of the data is simple: the seven independents are not a single party in terms of leanings but a spectrum, and the majority still carry the temperature of the opposition camp. If the moment comes when their votes serve as the kingmaker in the 22nd National Assembly, whether they tilt left or right should be read not from their names but from each individual lawmaker's coordinates.

There is a saying that truth, however long deferred, comes back around. Numbers left behind in the form of voting records trace lawmakers' footsteps more honestly than their words — even after the party affiliation has been erased.

Lawmakers Mentioned in the Article

Lawmaker	Party	Ideological Leaning	Notes
Kang Seon-woo	Independent	Economic left · Social progressive	Party's left wing
Kim Jong-min	Independent	Economic left · Social progressive	Party's left wing
Lee Chun-seok	Independent	Economic left · Social progressive	Party's left wing
Kim Byung-gi	Independent	Economic left · Social conservative	Party's right wing
Jang Kyung-tae	Independent	Economic right · Social conservative	Party's right wing
Cho Jeong-sik	Independent	Economic right · Social progressive	Party's right wing