[Fact Check] Is There No Deadline for Processing 'Resignation Letters of Members' in the National Assembly Act?

Article 135 of the National Assembly Act, Resignation of Members Approved by Resolution... No Separate Deadline
Article 136 of the National Assembly Act, Resignation Letter Submission Leads to Retirement from Office upon Public Office Candidate Registration

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] “(Regarding the submission of resignation letter by Yoon Hee-sook, a member of the People Power Party) there is no deadline for processing the resignation letter according to the National Assembly Act.”

Kim Young-bae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said this in an interview with MBC Radio’s ‘Kim Jong-bae’s Focus’ on the 27th. Yoon’s resignation declaration is a hot issue recently heating up the political landscape. What does the claim that there is no deadline for processing the resignation letter mean, even though Yoon declared her resignation?

First, it is necessary to look at the background of Yoon’s resignation declaration. Controversy arose as Yoon was included in the list of real estate transaction suspicions announced by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.

Yoon Hee-sook, a member of the People Power Party who was suspected of violating the Farmland Act in the comprehensive real estate investigation conducted by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, is declaring her resignation from the National Assembly on the 25th./Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

Earlier, on the 25th, Yoon declared her resignation regarding suspicions of her father’s real estate speculation, calling it “an intention to tarnish the reputation of opposition party members.” She expressed her intention to counter the political motives behind the real estate speculation controversy by using the card of resigning from her parliamentary position.

At that time, Yoon denied the allegations raised and stated, “I will return my position as a member of the National Assembly to the residents of Seocho Gap, Seoul, and the people.” Yoon also submitted her resignation letter to the National Assembly. She is a first-term lawmaker elected in the 21st general election in 2020 as a candidate of the United Future Party in Seocho Gap, Seoul.

Will Yoon step down from her parliamentary position along with her resignation declaration on the 25th? The resignation of a member of the National Assembly is stipulated by law. The reason it is difficult to place Yoon’s case on the same level as past processed resignations is due to the difference in the background of the resignation issue.

According to Article 155 of the National Assembly Act, when a member violates duties such as integrity, the Ethics Special Committee may review and decide on disciplinary actions such as warnings, apologies, or expulsion. Yoon declared her resignation voluntarily after the announcement by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission.

This is a different starting point from cases where resignation issues arise during investigations by investigative agencies or disciplinary reviews by the National Assembly Ethics Committee. Of course, the suspicions surrounding Yoon and her father may lead to investigations in the future, but at present, it is difficult to predict the process or outcome.

Unlike Yoon’s case, if an investigative agency obtains a warrant from the competent court for arrest and requests consent for arrest from the National Assembly, there is a deadline for processing.

Article 26 (Procedure for Requesting Consent for Arrest) of the National Assembly Act stipulates that the Speaker of the National Assembly must report the consent request at the first plenary session after receiving it and hold a vote between 24 hours and 72 hours thereafter.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The resignation of a member of the National Assembly is stipulated in Article 135 (Resignation) of the National Assembly Act.

According to the National Assembly Act, the National Assembly may approve a member’s resignation by resolution, and during recess, the Speaker may approve it. It is stipulated that if a member intends to resign, they must submit a resignation letter signed and sealed by themselves to the Speaker.

Submission of the resignation letter alone does not constitute processing of the resignation; a separate process such as a resolution by the National Assembly is required.

The August extraordinary session of the National Assembly continues until the 31st, and the regular session schedule begins in September. Until mid-December, when the regular session ends, the resignation letter of Yoon can only be processed through a plenary session vote of the National Assembly, not by the Speaker’s approval.

The problem is that Article 135 of the National Assembly Act does not specify a deadline by which the resignation letter must be processed after submission.

There are provisions related to the timing of resignation in the National Assembly Act. Article 136 (Retirement) states that when a member submits a resignation letter according to Article 53 of the Public Official Election Act and registers as a candidate for public office, they retire from their position as a member.

For example, when a member submits a resignation letter to run for Seoul mayor and registers as a candidate for public office, they retire from the National Assembly.

While the National Assembly Act contains provisions related to the timing of retirement, these apply to special cases such as running for public office and do not apply to Yoon’s case. Based on the National Assembly Act, the claim by Kim Young-bae that there is no deadline for processing Yoon’s resignation letter is judged to be ‘generally true.’

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.