Government legislation ministry clarifies local council quorum rules

The government legislation ministry said that local council members barred from deliberating on matters involving direct personal interests may still count toward the quorum needed to open a meeting.

For votes, excluded members cannot participate in a decision on the relevant item and are omitted from the voting quorum.

The ministry said Article 72 contains no separate provision excluding recused members when the meeting quorum is counted. It distinguished that quorum, the minimum attendance needed to open a session, consider agenda items and keep the meeting in session, from the recusal rule, which protects fairness in decisions on a particular item.

The interpretation answered a question from the Uiwang City Council in Gyeonggi Province. It applies to members whose direct interests involve themselves, a spouse, direct ascendants or descendants, or siblings. Under local-government rules, councils may open meetings when at least one-third of their full membership is present; decisions generally require a majority of the full membership to attend and support from a majority of those present.

For meeting quorums, excluded members retain their status and are not barred from attending; with the council's consent, they may attend and speak.

The ministry said a voting quorum presupposes that members included in the count can participate in the vote. A recused member cannot express a vote on the item. Counting that member would affect the number of members required to pass the item even though the member cannot vote, it said.

The interpretation was issued May 6. Ministry interpretations guide uniform legal enforcement and administrative operations within the executive branch but do not have the binding force of a final court judgment.