Yong Hye-in says resignation would leave Basic Income Party without Assembly seat

Yong Hye-in, a Basic Income Party lawmaker nominated as minister of gender equality and family, said Monday she intends to keep her proportional representation seat in the National Assembly, citing the risk that her resignation would leave the party without any Assembly representation.

In a Facebook post Monday, Yong said she was well aware of concerns that retaining her seat could be seen as clinging to privilege or special treatment. "If this were purely a personal matter unrelated to the party's future — or if I were not the party's only lawmaker — I would not have hesitated over whether to resign," she wrote.

She added that because the Basic Income Party cannot inherit a proportional representation seat under the current rules governing coalition politics, her resignation as the party's sole Assembly member would force it to become an extraparliamentary party. "I humbly ask for your understanding of the difficulties facing a minor party, where an individual's decision is inevitably bound up with the party's future," she said.

Should Yong resign, her seat would pass to Ko Jae-soon, former secretary-general of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, who is next in line on the Together Democratic Alliance's proportional list. Yong was elected as a proportional representative on the Together Democratic Alliance ticket in the 22nd general election, but was later expelled from the alliance and rejoined what became the Basic Income Party after a name change. She had followed a similar path in the 21st general election, entering the Assembly on a proportional seat from the Together Citizens' Party before returning to the Basic Income Party.

Yong also said she had already informed the party that she would not run as a proportional representative candidate in the next general election. "I will listen humbly to both the encouragement and the criticism from the public, reflect carefully, and prepare to answer questions faithfully at my confirmation hearing," she said.