Candidate Yong Hye-in to Retain Parliamentary Seat Even After Ministerial Appointment

Yong Hye-in, a lawmaker nominated as the Minister of Gender Equality and Family, has announced she will not resign her parliamentary seat even if she is appointed to the ministerial post. She decided to retain her National Assembly seat citing the circumstances of her minor party, the Basic Income Party. While lawmakers are legally permitted to hold a ministerial post concurrently, the convention has been for proportional representatives to resign their seats upon becoming a minister, allowing the next candidate on the list to assume the seat.

Candidate Yong bowed her head and asked for understanding on Facebook, stating, "If I, the party's sole lawmaker, resign, the party faces the difficulty of becoming an extra-parliamentary party." Parties without parliamentary seats are unable to fully utilize the activity funds and personnel support provided by the National Assembly.

The People Power Party protested Candidate Yong's decision to keep her seat, calling it a "privilege" and an "insult to the youth." Supreme Council member Woo Jae-jun pointed out during the party's Supreme Council meeting that day, "Benefiting from the proportional representation system twice is already a huge advantage; there will not be many in the younger generation who understand holding onto a lawmaker's post while serving as minister." Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun also criticized her on Facebook, calling it a "fatal insult to the 2030 generation who feel strong antipathy toward 'free-riding'."

The Justice Party, which had previously refused to engage in satellite party politics, criticized the nomination the previous day, stating it effectively "grants de facto absolution to satellite party politics."

While Candidate Yong served on the Gender Equality and Family Committee during the 21st National Assembly, she has never sponsored a bill under the committee's jurisdiction. The Korean Women’s Political Network stated in a commentary, "How can a person who has led the charge for the complete abolition of supplementary investigation rights, which victims of sexual violence and legally vulnerable people tearfully pleaded for, guarantee the safety rights of the weak?" declaring her "unqualified."