The issue of Minister of Gender Equality and Family nominee Yong Hye-in’s intention to retain her parliamentary seat has led to controversy over political party subsidies.
The focus is not only on whether she can concurrently serve as minister and lawmaker, but also on how resigning from her seat would affect the Basic Income Party’s status in the National Assembly and eligibility to receive subsidies.
However, the claim that subsidies were the actual reason for retaining the seat is a claim made in political circles and must be distinguished from the institutional rules that have been confirmed.
3-line summary
1. The Basic Income Party received 2억7709만원 in subsidies in the 3rd quarter.
2. If she resigns, the party may lose its eligibility for subsidies.
3. It has not been established whether subsidies were the actual motive.
From 985만원 in the 2nd quarter to 2억7709만원 in the 3rd quarter
According to reports citing data from the National Election Commission, the Basic Income Party received approximately 2억7709만원 in regular political party subsidies in the 3rd quarter of this year. This was a significant increase from approximately 985만원 in the 2nd quarter. JoongAng Ilbo reported that the increase was connected to the results of the 6·3 local elections.
Under the Political Funds Act, even a party with fewer than 5 seats can qualify for allocation of regular subsidies if it receives 0.5% or more of the vote in a recent nationwide election. The Basic Income Party received approximately 0.99%, or 26만7299 votes, in the proportional-representation election for metropolitan council members. According to the National Election Commission, this result entitled it to 2.07% of the total regular subsidies for the 3rd quarter.
Looking only at the numbers, the subsidies may appear to be the result of the vote share. However, in this case, whether the party has a seat in the National Assembly is also at issue. Even if the party met the allocation criteria through its election results, the question of whether it would remain eligible for payments after losing its sole seat is a separate matter.
JoongAng Ilbo reported that the Basic Income Party received approximately 3억5008만원 in subsidies from the 3rd quarter of 2024, during the 22nd National Assembly, through the 3rd quarter of this year. The current debate concerns not the cumulative amount itself, but the effect of a change in parliamentary representation on eligibility for payments from the following quarter onward.
If its sole seat disappears, it becomes a non-parliamentary party
Nominee Yong said that she is the Basic Income Party’s only National Assembly member and that her resignation would create difficulties because the party would become a non-parliamentary party. A proportional-representation lawmaker may be succeeded by the next candidate if the lawmaker resigns, but the explanation is that the Basic Income Party would not be structured to retain that seat.
Channel A reported that an official from the National Election Commission said the Basic Income Party, which would have no seats, would not be eligible to receive subsidies. The implication of this explanation is clear. Resigning from the seat is not merely a matter of an individual’s position; it is directly connected to the Basic Income Party’s parliamentary seat and its ability to receive regular subsidies.
The Dong-A Ilbo also reported that the Basic Income Party received 2억7709만원 in 3rd-quarter subsidies and that if nominee Yong gives up her seat, the party will no longer receive subsidies beginning in the 4th quarter. The subsidies mentioned in the reports are regular political party subsidies related to the party’s general operational foundation. They must be distinguished from the ministerial salary paid to the nominee personally.
It was reported that concurrent service as a member of the National Assembly and a member of the State Council is permitted. Accordingly, the issue is not whether concurrent service is legally impossible. The practice of proportional-representation lawmakers resigning when appointed to ministerial office, and the question of subsidy eligibility that arises when a minor party loses its sole parliamentary seat, overlap in this case.
“Because of subsidies” is the criticism; the nominee cited the party’s shift to a non-parliamentary status
People from the People Power Party claimed that political party subsidies were behind nominee Yong’s intention to retain her parliamentary seat. In a Dong-A Ilbo report, lawmaker Na Kyung-won mentioned annual subsidies of 11억원 and asked why she was not resigning. This was a claim by an opposition politician, and it has not been established that subsidies were the actual reason for the nominee’s decision.
The reason nominee Yong gave publicly was the shift of a minor party to a non-parliamentary status. She explained that the Basic Income Party could not have the proportional-representation seat succeeded to it and that her resignation was directly connected to the party’s future. Channel A reported that an official from the Basic Income Party leadership also said that lawmaker Yong should retain her seat.
The fact that her spouse, Park Gi-hong, serves as the Basic Income Party’s deputy director general for strategic planning also became a subject of criticism. People from the People Power Party claimed that the relationship between party-official compensation and subsidies needed to be explained. In response, the Basic Income Party argued that it was unfair to portray a colleague who had served as a party official as having received preferential treatment because of the marriage relationship.
What has been confirmed in this subsidy controversy is that resigning from the parliamentary seat affects the Basic Income Party’s eligibility to receive subsidies. Conversely, concluding that the nominee’s motive was solely subsidies remains an area between the claims of the various political actors and the nominee’s explanation. The nominee said that she would listen carefully to voices of criticism and encouragement and answer sincerely at the confirmation hearing.
References
Tags #Subsidies #PoliticalPartySubsidies #RegularSubsidies #BasicIncomeParty #YongHyeIn #ResignationFromParliamentarySeat #ConcurrentServiceAsStateCouncilMember #ProportionalRepresentation #NationalElectionCommission #PoliticalFundsAct #NonParliamentaryParty #NationalAssemblyConfirmationHearing