Rep. Yong Hye-in of the Basic Income Party withdrew as nominee for minister of gender equality and family after controversy over holding both a ministerial post and a proportional-representation seat, but the aftershocks continue. On the 14th, a day after the withdrawal, Yong's party threw fresh fuel on the fire by proposing to the Democratic Party of Korea that they "bring to public debate a revision of the National Assembly Act barring lawmakers from concurrently serving as cabinet members, whether they hold district or proportional seats." The proposal was read as sour grapes, or petulance, from a lawmaker who had insisted on holding both posts to the end before stepping down.
Yet this issue deserves examination as a matter of presidential democracy rather than dismissal as mere pique. Article 43 of the Constitution states that "no member of the National Assembly shall concurrently hold any office prescribed by law." The Constitution sets a ban on dual office-holding as the principle and delegates the specific scope of prohibition to statute. But Article 29 of the National Assembly Act, which received that delegation, permits lawmakers to serve as cabinet members, stating that "no member shall concurrently hold any office other than that of prime minister or member of the State Council." In short, a lawmaker holding a ministerial post is unquestionably legal under current law. Still, deep reflection is required as to whether it truly meets public expectations for statute to designate the ministerial post — the most sensitive senior position in the executive branch — as an exception when the constitutional intent is a ban in principle.
The bigger problem is that lawmakers serving as ministers erodes the separation of powers at the core of a presidential system. The National Assembly makes laws and oversees the executive branch through parliamentary audits and budget reviews. The executive branch is charged with carrying out policy under the laws the Assembly sets. When a lawmaker also serves as a minister, the boundary between the Assembly and the executive branch blurs and side effects can follow. The immediate concern is neglect of the lawmaker's duties as a representative of the people. Conflicts of interest for a minister who is also a lawmaker are another worry.
The Lee Jae-myung administration has recorded an unprecedented rate of dual office-holding since its early days, with more than 40% of State Council members holding Assembly seats. This invites unavoidable criticism that the government lacks the will to practice democracy grounded in the separation of powers. With power already concentrated on the strength of an overwhelming majority for the ruling party, it is self-evident that the Assembly's independent check on the executive will weaken if this many lawmakers also take on ministerial posts.
The United States, which adopted a presidential system before Korea did, bars lawmakers from serving as cabinet members through its constitution in order to prevent the concentration of power and corruption. Article I, Section 6, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution states that "no Senator or Representative shall, during the time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil office under the authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the emoluments whereof shall have been increased during such time; and no person holding any office under the United States shall be a member of either House during his continuance in office." It nailed the separation-of-powers principle of the presidential system into the constitution in the clear form of "personnel separation," blocking any room for subordinate statutes to relax it. That stands in contrast to Korea, where Article 29 of the National Assembly Act, a subordinate statute, reversed the delegated intent of Article 43 of the Constitution and carved out an exception allowing ministerial dual office-holding.
In his inaugural address, President Lee said he would "build a genuine democratic republic in which the sovereign will of the people is reflected in state affairs on a daily basis." But under an imperial presidency, with an absolute majority of Assembly seats and a sharp increase in lawmakers doubling as ministers, President Lee has become a head of the executive branch gripping extraordinarily strong power in one hand. In such a situation, no matter how much his social media messages are described as communication pitched to public expectations, they cannot but be felt as excessive interference or pressure. Live broadcasts of the State Council meetings he presides over may also come across as an excess of power that blunts ministers' will to work rather than encouraging active administration.
The dual office-holding question raised after Yong's withdrawal surfaced again on the 15th at the confirmation hearing for Lee So-young, the nominee for minister of SMEs and startups. Rep. Seo Ji-young of the People Power Party noted that the rate of lawmakers holding ministerial posts is higher under this government than under past ones and pressed the point: "The legislature is supposed to check the government, so can the role of the checker and the role of the executive branch coexist?" The nominee replied that "it is a peculiar constitutional structure that the legislature and its members can hold dual offices even though this is not a parliamentary system," adding that "I think it is a matter that requires deep consideration." The time has come to act on resolving a practice that does not fit the intent of the Constitution. Whether through statutory revision, through easing it by the president's appointment power, or through strict control by constitutional provision as in the United States, deep consideration is needed.
