Abstract
This study empirically analyzes how the political ideologies and party affiliations of Korean legislators influenced their legislative behavior on refugee issues during their politicization. Focusing on the 20th National Assembly, it examines the ideological orientations, partisan affiliations, personal characteristics, and co-sponsorship patterns of lawmakers who proposed refugee-related bills. We finds that legislative activities regarding refugee issues were predominantly driven by partisan alignment rather than individual ideological positions. Negative refugee-related bills tended to be introduced primarily by legislators affiliated with conservative opposition parties. In contrast, refugee-friendly legislation typically involved a larger number of co-sponsors from diverse party affiliations, likely reflecting an effort to diffuse associated political costs. These findings suggest that refugee policymaking in South Korea is becoming increasingly politicized amid partisan competition and public opinion pressures, requiring both enhanced social acceptance of refugees and the development of bipartisan consensus and political cost diffusion strategies in future policy design.
BibTeX citation
@article{Limetal2025,
Author = {Lim Yoojin, Young Hoon Song, and Sanghoon Park},
Journal = {Korean Journal of Legislative Studies (KJLS)},
Number = {2},
Title = {Refugee Act and Legislative Politics in South Korea: Who Engages and in Which Refugee Bills?},
Volume = {31},
Year = {2025}}