Passage (Gagyeol)
Overview
Passage (가결, 可決) refers to a decision by a deliberative body — such as the National Assembly, a local council, a shareholders' meeting, or a committee — to express approval of a bill (議案) or agenda item submitted to it, thereby establishing and confirming that item. If the votes in favor meet the quorum prescribed by law, the item is passed; if not, it is rejected (否決). Passage is distinguished from a mere expression of opinion in that it is a definitive act conferring legal effect on the item, not simply a show of support.
Main Content
Concept and Legal Character
Passage is an internal act of will-formation by a deliberative body, while externally it has the effect of confirming a legal norm or the will of an organization. The passage of a bill by the National Assembly is a core stage of legislative action; the passage of an impeachment motion initiates adjudication by the Constitutional Court; and the passage of a budget bill provides the legal basis for state fiscal activity. The effects of passage therefore vary greatly depending on the type of item.
Quorum Requirements
Article 49 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea provides that "the National Assembly shall decide by the attendance of a majority of the total membership and the concurrence of a majority of the members present, unless otherwise provided by the Constitution or by law." This is commonly called the ordinary passage requirement, and it requires both a quorum of attendance — a majority of the total membership — and a quorum of decision — a majority of the members present. For important items, however, heightened special requirements apply.
- Constitutional amendment bill: concurrence of at least two-thirds of the total membership (Article 130 of the Constitution)
- Impeachment of the President: proposed by a majority of the total membership, with concurrence of at least two-thirds of the total membership (Article 65 of the Constitution)
- Reconsideration of a presidential veto: attendance of a majority of the total membership and concurrence of at least two-thirds of the members present (Article 53 of the Constitution)
- Impeachment of the Prime Minister, Constitutional Court justices, etc.: the same requirements as for presidential impeachment apply
- Expulsion of a National Assembly member: concurrence of at least two-thirds of the total membership (National Assembly Act)
In this way, requirements for passage tend to become stricter in proportion to the political and legal gravity of the item.
Voting Methods
Whether an item is passed is determined through a vote. Under the National Assembly Act, voting methods include standing votes, show-of-hands votes, recorded votes, secret ballots, and electronic voting. Items concerning personal matters, such as a presidential impeachment motion or a disciplinary motion against a National Assembly member, are in principle decided by secret ballot, while constitutional amendment bills are decided by recorded vote. In recent years, the introduction of electronic voting systems has allowed vote results to be tallied and disclosed in real time.
Types of Passage
- Ordinary passage (simple passage): passage meeting the usual quorum requirements
- Special passage (important passage): passage meeting heightened quorums, such as for constitutional amendment bills or impeachment motions
- Passage as amended: a method of passing a bill after part of the original has been modified, where the amended bill is adopted in the plenary session
- Passage without objection (passage without a vote): confirmation by consensus without a voting procedure because there is no dissent
- Passage of a reconsideration request (re-passage): where the National Assembly passes again a bill on which the President has exercised the veto
Effects of Passage and Subsequent Procedures
When a bill is passed by the National Assembly, it is sent to the government, and the President must promulgate it within 15 days of its transmittal. A promulgated law takes effect 20 days after the date of promulgation unless otherwise provided. If the President exercises the veto (right to request reconsideration), the bill is returned to the National Assembly and undergoes reconsideration procedures; if reconsideration results in the attendance of a majority of the total membership and the concurrence of at least two-thirds of the members present, it is confirmed. When an impeachment motion is passed, an impeachment committee is formed and files a request for adjudication with the Constitutional Court, and the respondent's exercise of authority is immediately suspended.
Difference from Rejection
Rejection is a state in which the requirements for passage have not been met, and the item is discarded. A rejected item may in principle not be proposed again during the same session, a device intended to ensure stability of the agenda and prevent abuse. After the session ends, however, it may be re-proposed in the next session.
Major Cases
- December 9, 2016: Passage of the impeachment motion against President Park Geun-hye (234 in favor)
- December 14, 2024: Passage of the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk Yeol (204 in favor)
- December 27, 2024: Passage of the impeachment motion against Acting President Han Duck-soo (192 in favor)
- April 4, 2025: The Constitutional Court sentenced President Yoon Suk Yeol to removal from office, finally confirming the effect of the impeachment passage
Recent Trends
From late 2024 through 2025, "passage" stood at the forefront of political and legal discourse in the Republic of Korea. Triggered by the declaration of martial law on December 3, 2024, the presidential impeachment motion was passed on December 14, and the impeachment motion against the acting president was passed as well, setting off an unprecedented vacancy in executive authority and a chain of reconsideration and adjudication procedures in constitutional history. In April 2025, the Constitutional Court's removal ruling concluded the impeachment proceedings, and afterward the National Assembly, proceeding through a presidential election and the launch of a new government, showed repeated patterns of passage, exercises of the veto, requests for reconsideration, and attempts at re-passage over the insurrection special counsel act, amendments to the Commercial Act, and various livelihood bills.
On the institutional side, the filibuster (unlimited debate) and the designation of fast-track items emerged as key variables determining the possibility of passage, and political conflict over whether quorum requirements were met in plenary votes also became frequent. In addition, "transparency in the passage process" emerged as a new issue, including real-time disclosure of electronic voting results, demands for the disclosure of voting records, and interpretative disputes over the scope of secret ballots. In 2025, disputes over decision quorums and passage requirements also increased in non-National Assembly settings such as local councils and shareholders' meetings, and passage is expanding in scope beyond a concept belonging solely to the National Assembly to become a core concept of democratic decision-making in general.
Related Topics
- [[National Assembly]]
- [[Rejection]]
- [[Vote]]
- [[Quorum]]
- [[Impeachment]]
- [[Veto]]
- [[Filibuster]]
- [[Bill]]