Yong Hye-in's dual role as minister nominee and lawmaker sparks debate within ruling camp

Controversy over Basic Income Party lawmaker Yong Hye-in's plan to hold her proportional representation seat while serving as minister of gender equality and family is spreading rapidly. The dispute flared after Yong, nominated for the cabinet post, signaled she would not resign her Assembly seat — breaking with the convention that proportional representatives step down upon joining the cabinet.

While opposition parties have kept up a sustained attack over the issue, opinion within the broader ruling camp is divided between those urging caution — "let's watch how the vetting process unfolds" — and those insisting she must give up her proportional seat.

Democratic Party Senior Supreme Council Member Choi Min-hee said on SBS Radio on Tuesday that appointing the 36-year-old working mother to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family was "positive in terms of advancing talented women into important positions," adding that resigning a proportional seat before taking a ministerial post "is not a legal requirement."

A Democratic Party lawmaker on the National Assembly's gender equality and family committee said by phone that Yong "appears to have shown considerable interest in gender equality issues and has the standing to represent families and youth policy well as someone directly affected," but added that her decision on the proportional seat "is something we should watch and assess."

Concern was also voiced. Another Democratic Party member of the same committee said the convention of resigning should be respected. "She has to choose one or the other — stay with the party or serve as a cabinet minister. If she wanted to preserve the Basic Income Party's status as a floor party, she should have declined the cabinet offer," the lawmaker said.

Yong announced Monday her intention to hold both posts, saying that "given the institutional gap in coalition politics that prevents the Basic Income Party from inheriting the proportional seat, my resignation as the party's sole Assembly member would force the Basic Income Party to become an extra-parliamentary party."

Some argue that seat succession is appropriate given that the proportional seats were won through a multi-party electoral alliance. Democratic Party Supreme Council Member Park Seon-won said on YTN Radio that day that Yong's explanation "made it sound as though there is no next candidate in line," and added, "If she has been nominated as a minister for a portfolio that suits her expertise and strengths, I think she should give the matter serious thought."

Criticism was also directed at the satellite party problem within the linked proportional representation system. Former Justice Party lawmaker Jang Hye-young said on CBS Radio that day that "without joining a satellite party, the Basic Income Party would have been outside the Assembly to begin with," and said it was wrong to "obscure the issue by framing it as a matter of being a minor party."

Meanwhile, Yong entered the Assembly as a proportional representative on the Together Democratic Alliance ticket in the last general election before switching her party affiliation to the Basic Income Party. Should she resign, the next proportional candidate on the Together Democratic Alliance list — Ko Jae-soon, former secretary-general of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation and a Democratic Party member — would inherit the seat.