Yong Hye-in plans to keep her parliamentary seat even if appointed minister, breaking convention

Yong Hye-in says she intends to remain a lawmaker even if she becomes South Korea’s minister of gender equality and family, departing from the usual practice for proportional-representation legislators appointed to the cabinet.

Yong, the Basic Income Party’s only member of the National Assembly, said resigning would create a serious problem for her party. Because of what she described as an institutional gap in coalition politics, the Basic Income Party cannot directly take over her proportional-representation seat.

She was elected in the 2024 general election as a candidate of the Democratic United Alliance, a proportional coalition that included the Democratic Party. If she resigns, the seat would pass to Ko Jae-soon, a former secretary-general of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation who is affiliated with the Democratic Party, rather than to a Basic Income Party candidate.

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Because of the institutional gap in coalition politics, the Basic Income Party cannot succeed to the proportional-representation seat, and if I resign, the Basic Income Party would face the difficulty of becoming a party without representation in the National Assembly.

Yong acknowledged concerns that keeping the seat could appear to protect personal privileges or benefits. She said she would listen carefully to both public encouragement and criticism and prepare to answer questions at her confirmation hearing.

The law allows members of parliament to serve simultaneously as cabinet ministers. However, the established practice has been for proportional-representation lawmakers who join the cabinet to resign, allowing the next person on the electoral list to take the seat.

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I understand the various concerns that my resignation from the parliamentary seat could be seen as involving privileges or benefits.