Will Former Buyeo Governor Jeonghyun Park Be Able to Run in the Parliamentary By-Election?

Impossible to Run if 120-Day Resignation Rule Is Applied to Local Government Heads
Unreasonable to Uniformly Apply Rule When Election Date Is Unconfirmed
Legal Experts Warn Against Retroactive Application and Potential Restriction of Candidacy R

Screenshot of former Buyeo County Governor Jeonghyun Park's SNS

There are growing criticisms that the "120-day resignation rule" under the Public Official Election Act is unreasonable in relation to former Buyeo County Governor Jeonghyun Park’s candidacy in the parliamentary by-election for Gongju, Buyeo, and Cheongyang.

According to coverage by The Asia Business Daily on April 23, the issue centers on whether the so-called "120-day prior resignation rule," stipulated in Article 53, Paragraph 5 of the Public Official Election Act, applies if former Governor Park runs in the parliamentary by-election. This provision requires local government heads to resign at least 120 days prior to the election day if they intend to run in a by-election.

However, unlike regular term-expiry elections, by-election dates are determined only after the reason for the by-election arises.

For this reason, some point out that applying the 120-day rule mechanically when the election date is still undetermined could paradoxically block potential candidates from running even before the by-election is officially established.

Currently, it has not even been decided whether the Gongju, Buyeo, and Cheongyang by-election will take place at all. A by-election would only be triggered if Assemblyman Park Soo-hyun of the Democratic Party resigns from his seat to run for governor of South Chungcheong Province.

Although party leader Jeong Cheongrae announced a plan for all National Assembly members running in local elections to resign collectively on the 29th, the actual timing and scale of resignations remain uncertain. Within political circles, there is speculation that if resignations occur after May, the by-election could be postponed until next year.

Given the current situation, where neither the election date nor even the holding of the election is confirmed, the prevailing view is that applying the "120-day prior resignation" rule based on a specific point in time conforms neither to practical realities nor to legal logic.

Former Governor Park, aiming to run in the South Chungcheong Province governor election, resigned from his post on February 28 to comply with the "90 days before election day" requirement.

At that time, not only was the by-election not confirmed, but there was no election date at all. The possibility of a by-election only emerged later due to changes in the political schedule.

A local political figure commented, "To raise an issue about the '120-day prior resignation' for someone who resigned before it was even clear there would be an election undermines the premise of the law," adding, "Is it even valid to apply the rule in such a case?"

An election law expert explained, "Article 53 of the Public Official Election Act regulates the timing of resignation on the assumption that an election date has already been set. Retroactively applying this rule to a period when no by-election date existed runs counter to the principles of legal certainty and predictability."

The expert added, "The provision is essentially designed to restrict the timing of candidacy by current officeholders. If it were broadly applied to former officeholders who have already resigned, it could amount to an undue restriction on eligibility to run for office, but there is no clear legal basis for such an extension."

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