Government legislation ministry rules recused members count toward quorum

The Ministry of Government Legislation said on the 15th that commissioners recused from specific agenda items due to conflicts of interest still count toward the quorum required to open meetings of the Broadcast Media and Communications Commission.

In a formal interpretation issued on the 15th in response to an inquiry from the commission, the ministry stated that under the Act on the Establishment and Operation of the Broadcast Media and Communications Commission, a meeting requires the presence of at least four commissioners to begin. Because the law does not explicitly exclude recused members from this headcount, their physical presence satisfies the requirement to convene.

The ministry explained that excluding recused members from the convening count could prevent the committee from holding meetings at all if too many members have conflicts, whereas counting them ensures operational stability while maintaining fairness by barring them from the actual vote.

However, recused commissioners cannot be included in the denominator used to determine whether a majority has been reached for a resolution, as they are legally barred from expressing an opinion or voting on the conflicted item.

The ministry ruled that commissioners who depart during proceedings and do not return cannot be counted toward either the convening quorum or the voting quorum. Once a member leaves the room, they are no longer considered present for the purposes of forming the collective will of the commission.