The Basic Income Party has proposed that the Democratic Party of Korea amend the National Assembly Act to ban lawmakers from simultaneously serving as Cabinet ministers.
The proposal came just one day after Basic Income Party lawmaker Yong Hye-in withdrew her nomination as minister of gender equality and family — a post she had initially said she would hold while retaining her Assembly seat.
Speaking at a supreme council meeting Monday, Basic Income Party leader Oh Jun-ho called on the Democratic Party to demonstrate responsible coalition politics. "Let us use this occasion to discuss at least two political reforms together," he said.
Oh proposed amending the National Assembly Act to prohibit all lawmakers — whether elected from constituency seats or proportional representation — from concurrently serving as Cabinet ministers.
"If the principle of checks and balances between the executive and legislative branches truly matters, there is no reason to allow constituency lawmakers to serve as ministers while requiring only proportional representation lawmakers to resign," he said.
He added that a clear rule should be established: those elected by the public as legislators should remain in the Assembly to check the executive, while any lawmaker appointed to the Cabinet should give up their seat.
Oh also called for electoral reform to expand proportional representation seats and strengthen the linkage system. "Let us pursue electoral reform to build coalition politics without satellite parties," he said, arguing that the key to preventing satellite parties while preserving the spirit of multiparty coalition politics was to increase the number of proportional seats and tighten their linkage to the popular vote.
Yong entered the Assembly through satellite parties set up by the Democratic Party for proportional representation purposes in the 2020 and 2024 general elections.
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