Ha Tae-kyung: "Lee Sang-min's Impeachment Should Be Absolutely Dismissed... Roh Moo-hyun's Impeachment Also Backfired"

As the Constitutional Court's decision on June 25 regarding the impeachment of Lee Sang-min, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, who was held responsible for the Itaewon disaster, is imminent, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, emphasized "absolute dismissal," giving weight to the dismissal of the impeachment.

On the same day, Ha said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' program, "I guarantee 100% dismissal. Impeachment requires legal violations or constitutional breaches," expressing this view.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He stated, "However, there was no legal violation at all. There were problematic remarks at the time, which led to public discontent, and that was exploited to attack in an inappropriate way," adding, "The Democratic Party did not initially expect the impeachment to pass; they politically held responsibility due to very unfavorable public opinion at the time, which was the wrong approach."

When asked by the host if it was a violation of the Disaster and Safety Management Act, he replied, "There was no violation. Those who violated the law are under investigation and have been prosecuted," and "Legal responsibility for the accident lies at the disaster site. For example, Itaewon is in Yongsan-gu, and this time, in Chungbuk Province, it is the Chungbuk Province or Cheongju City and the relevant police, so legally, the responsibility is clear," indicating that the responsibility for violating the Disaster and Safety Management Act lies with the heads of local governments.

He compared the situation to the past impeachment of former President Roh Moo-hyun and mentioned the possibility of a backlash. Ha said, "There is sufficient room for political criticism, and there was much criticism at the time, but that is separate from the impeachment issue," adding, "In the case of former President Roh, there was a suspicion of election law violation, but it was not a clear or serious violation, so the side pushing for impeachment actually faced a backlash."

When asked by the host about the possibility of a 'backlash,' he responded, "The Democratic Party certainly has a moral responsibility for causing a vacancy in the executive branch, especially in the key disaster-related departments."

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