Government legislation ministry clarifies quorum rules for media commission

The government legislation ministry said Tuesday that members recused from specific cases due to conflicts of interest may be counted toward the quorum required to open meetings of the Broadcast, Media and Communications Commission.

While recused members help establish that a meeting can legally convene, the ministry ruled they cannot be included in the headcount needed to pass a resolution.

Officials stated that commissioners who depart during proceedings and do not return cannot be counted toward either the quorum for convening or the quorum for voting.

"When calculating the quorum for convening a meeting, recused members can be included in the number of attending members," the ministry said in its formal response to an inquiry from the commission. "However, when calculating the quorum for a resolution, recused members cannot be included in the number of attending members."

The interpretation, issued on the 15th under case number 26-0665, addressed four specific inquiries from the commission regarding Articles 13 and 14 of the Act on the Establishment and Operation of the Broadcast, Media and Communications Commission. The ministry distinguished between the logic for convening a session and the requirements for passing a motion, noting that while recused members retain their status as committee members, they lose the ability to express intent on specific agendas.

The ruling cited the dictionary definition of "attendance" as physically being present at a seat to justify excluding members who leave mid-session from all quorum calculations. It also contrasted the current law with other statutes, such as the Anti-Corruption Act, which explicitly exclude conflicted members from headcounts, arguing that the absence of such explicit language in the media commission's governing law implies recused members should still count for opening sessions.