Speaking for Votes: The Electoral Returns of Region-Focused Rhetoric in Korean Legislative Committee

This study examines how substantive geographic representation – measured by the frequency and concentration of regional references in committee speeches – affects both party nomination and electoral success among South Korean legislators from the 17th to 21st National Assemblies (2004–2024). Using automated text analysis of standing committee minutes and logistic regression models, we show that a broader breadth of territorial rhetoric significantly increases party nomination prospects, whereas narrow specialisation initially undermines nomination before becoming advantageous as elections approach. Conversely, focused advocacy of one's own district yields greater electoral returns for legislators with larger prior victory margins, while general regional mentions have limited direct effects on re-election. These findings reveal distinct strategic logics at different electoral stages: party elites reward legislators for signalling competence through diverse geographic engagement, whereas voters eventually reward targeted constituency advocacy, especially by electorally secure incumbents. By uncovering these dual signalling pathways, the study advances representation theory, legislative behaviour research, and comparative analyses of territorial politics under centralised nomination systems.