Can the Cabinet Meeting Be Held Without Han Ducksoo and Choi Sangmok? Justice Ministry Says "There Is Precedent"

Only 14 Cabinet Members Remain After Mass Resignations
Vice Minister Kim Seokwoo Responds: "There Is Precedent"

Yonhap News

On May 2, Kim Seokwoo, Vice Minister of Justice, stated that there was no issue with convening the Cabinet meeting despite the controversy over the lack of a quorum following the successive resignations of Cabinet members, including former Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs and Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sangmok. During an emergency inquiry by the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Kim responded to a question from Jo Baesook, a member of the People Power Party, saying, "I am aware that there are various opinions on this matter, but looking at past cases, there have been instances where meetings were deemed valid even when fewer than 15 members were present."

Kim appeared to be referring to a precedent from 2009 during the Lee Myungbak administration, when a Cabinet meeting was held with only 14 members. At that time, after Won Sehoon, Minister of Public Administration and Security, resigned to become Director of the National Intelligence Service and the ministry requested an official interpretation, the Ministry of Government Legislation concluded, "If the requirements for forming the Cabinet meeting are met and vacancies arise due to temporary operational reasons, it cannot be considered a violation of the Constitution."

With the resignation of former Deputy Prime Minister Choi, the ministerial posts of five out of 19 government ministries (Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Ministry of Employment and Labor, and Ministry of Economy and Finance) are now vacant, leaving 14 Cabinet members. This has sparked controversy over whether the Cabinet meeting can be held, as it does not meet the constitutional requirement of having at least 15 members.

The Office for Government Policy Coordination maintains that there is no issue with convening the Cabinet meeting, citing the Ministry of Government Legislation's interpretation that "if the statutory number of at least 15 Cabinet members is provided for under the Government Organization Act, the meeting is considered properly constituted even if some positions are vacant." According to the Constitution, the Cabinet meeting "shall be composed of not less than 15 and not more than 30 Cabinet members," and a Presidential Decree stipulates that "the meeting may be convened with a majority (11 out of the current 21 members) present."