Ruling and Opposition Clash Over 'Dismissal Recommendation'... "Octopus-like Political Struggle" vs "People's Mandate"

Democratic Party States Intent to Unilaterally Pass Dismissal Recommendation
People Power Party Criticizes "Democratic Party's Excessive Suppression and Tyranny Over Parliamentary Democracy"

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party (left), and Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, are moving to the Speaker's office on the afternoon of the 30th of last month for a meeting of floor leaders presided over by the Speaker of the National Assembly. (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporters Kum Boryeong, Park Juni, Kwon Hyunji] The ruling and opposition parties continued their sharp confrontation over the dismissal motion against Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min. The People Power Party claims it is an "octopus-like expansion of political strife," but the Democratic Party of Korea remains firm in its stance to push the dismissal motion independently.

Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, stated at the policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on the 1st, "Holding Minister Lee accountable is a reasonable demand of the public and a heartfelt cry of the bereaved families," adding, "The Democratic Party will definitely pass the dismissal motion in the plenary session." The Democratic Party submitted the dismissal motion against Minister Lee to the National Assembly the day before. This is the second dismissal motion after Foreign Minister Park Jin in September. However, the presidential office is highly likely to exercise a veto, as it did with Minister Park.

For this reason, the Democratic Party is showing a tough stance by planning to propose an impeachment motion. This is interpreted as a strategy to take the lead in upcoming issues such as a parliamentary audit. At the policy coordination meeting, Floor Leader Park emphasized, "If President Yoon Seok-yeol and Minister Lee refuse even the last chance, it will be concluded that they have rejected the people's mandate, and the Democratic Party will have no choice but to propose an impeachment motion against Minister Lee." An impeachment motion requires the support of at least one-third of the total members of the National Assembly to be proposed and more than half of the total members to pass. With nearly 170 seats, the Democratic Party can easily pass it alone.

Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on the 1st and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

The People Power Party raised its voice in criticism against the Democratic Party. Jeong Jin-seok, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, said at the emergency committee meeting in the morning, "The Democratic Party is exploiting the bereaved families' cries and public outrage over the (Itaewon) accident to expand political strife like an octopus," and questioned, "Isn't the parliamentary audit supposed to uncover the truth? What do they intend to do by dismissing the Minister of the Interior and Safety before it even begins?" He continued, "We feared from the start that the parliamentary audit would be used for political strife, but we accepted it as a last-ditch measure for the greater good," and criticized, "'Complete removal of prosecution's investigative authority (Geomsu Wanbak),' 'complete removal of the Board of Audit and Inspection's independence (Gamsa Wanbak),' and 'complete removal of budget authority (Yesan Wanbak)' are abuses, and the legislative power given by the people is being used as a shield for Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung. The Democratic Party's destruction of parliamentary democracy and abuse have gone too far."

However, whether the plenary session will be held in the afternoon to table the dismissal motion against Minister Lee remains uncertain. Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the People Power Party, explained at the emergency committee meeting, "The People Power Party argues that there is no agenda to be handled in the plenary session today or tomorrow, so there is no reason or justification to open the plenary session, and I think it should remain that way." The opposition party urged the speaker to convene the plenary session, citing precedents where the agenda was proceeded without any agenda items.

On the morning of the same day, the floor leaders of both parties met with National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo to discuss these matters. The opposition party plans to pass the dismissal motion at another plenary session on the 2nd if the dismissal motion is reported in the plenary session that day. Park Chan-dae, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, said on MBC Radio, "If the dismissal and impeachment motions against Minister Lee are not processed by the 8th, we may need to schedule additional plenary sessions," adding, "We can also convene a solo session by the 9th, so we will do our best."

Jeong Jin-seok, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is attending the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 1st and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.