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Acting president rejects Cabinet member resignations to preserve continuity

Published: 27 May. 2025, 16:04

Acting President and Education Minister Lee Ju-ho speaks during a meeting at Government Complex Seoul in central Seoul on May 19. [NEWS1]

Ahead of the launch of the new administration next week, several ministers have tendered their resignations to acting President Lee Ju-ho — only to be asked to "stay put," according to a high-ranking government official on Tuesday.

Acting President Lee has not accepted the resignations, urging ministers to remain in their posts to preserve government continuity during what officials acknowledge is an unusually fragile transition. The administration will begin without a transition committee and faces a potential quorum crisis in the Cabinet.

“Though I understand the desire of some ministers to step down after experiencing former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law and the Democratic Party’s (DP) serial impeachments, we have no choice but to stop them for the sake of government continuity,” a high-ranking official told the JoongAng Ilbo on Tuesday.

Once the new administration takes office, it inevitably has to endure a period of uneasy coexistence with officials appointed under Yoon.

Acting President Lee is refusing the resignations because the next administration will begin immediately without a transition committee, leaving some Cabinet posts vacant and falling short of the number of ministers required to hold a Cabinet meeting.

Following the liberal DP’s impeachment motion on May 1, then-Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Choi Sang-mok resigned. Only 14 ministers currently remain eligible to vote in Cabinet meetings. The government needs at least 11 ministers present to meet the legal quorum.

Former Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok closes his eyes during a plenary meeting held at the National Assembly in western Seoul on May 1. [NEWS1]

“If we accept even one resignation, it could trigger a domino effect and cause the Cabinet to lose its quorum,” the high-ranking official said. “Given that the new administration’s ministers cannot be appointed immediately due to confirmation hearings, the situation is delicate.”

Maintaining a quorum in the Cabinet is crucial because, even after the president takes office, executive powers such as appointments and budget execution are extremely limited without Cabinet deliberation and approval. While the president can nominate a candidate for prime minister directly to the National Assembly, nominations for ministers must go through a Cabinet review before being sent to the Assembly for confirmation hearings.

Even after a confirmation hearing, a minister can only be officially appointed after the prime minister recommends the appointment to the president through a Cabinet meeting.

"This goes beyond a simple personnel matter,” said a representative from the Office for Government Policy Coordination. “Acting President Lee believes ministers must remain in office to protect public welfare and maintain security.”

Former presidential candidate Han Duck-soo speaks at a foreign correspondent press conference at the Press Center in Jung District, central Seoul, on May 7. [NEWS1]

Until the next administration’s nominee for prime minister is approved by parliament, acting President Lee may also have to serve as acting prime minister.

When the Yoon administration launched, the confirmation process for its first prime minister, Han Duck-soo, was delayed, so former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum of the Moon Jae-in administration recommended the appointments of Yoon’s ministers to the new president.

A similar situation occurred in 2017 when the Moon administration was launched, and ministers appointed under the Park Geun-hye administration stayed on for 76 days.

“An administration is temporary, but the nation is eternal,” Moon said at the time, hosting a separate luncheon with the Park-era ministers. “You are undeniably ministers of the Moon Jae-in administration,” calling for cooperation in governance.

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
BY PARK TAE-IN [[email protected]]