[News Terms] First Ever Approval in Constitutional History: 'Motion to Dismiss the Prime Minister'

295 Members Present: 175 in Favor, 116 Opposed
9 Bills Proposed So Far, All Discarded or Rejected

The 'Motion to Recommend the Dismissal of the Prime Minister' is a recommendation by the National Assembly to the President, the head of the executive branch, to dismiss the Prime Minister. According to Article 63, Paragraph 1 of the Constitution, the National Assembly can propose the dismissal of the Prime Minister with the support of at least one-third of the total members.

The motion reported to the plenary session must be voted on by secret ballot within '72 hours after 24 hours' from the time it is reported. If the motion passes with the approval of the majority of the total members, it is reported to the President. However, since the motion is a 'recommendation' without legal binding force, the President may choose not to accept it.

On the 21st, at the 8th plenary session of the 410th National Assembly (regular session) held in the National Assembly plenary hall, the motion to dismiss Prime Minister Han Deok-su was passed with 175 votes in favor, 116 against, and 4 abstentions out of a total of 295 votes.
Photo by Kim Hyun-min

However, if the President does not accept the National Assembly's recommendation to dismiss the Prime Minister, public opinion may worsen due to the perception that the institution representing the people's will, the National Assembly, has been ignored, and the approval rating of the President's political party may decline.

The motion to recommend the dismissal of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo passed the National Assembly plenary session on the 21st. This is the first time in constitutional history that a motion to recommend the dismissal of a Prime Minister has been approved. On that day, the National Assembly held a plenary session in the afternoon and passed the motion with 175 votes in favor out of 295 total members. There were 116 votes against and 4 abstentions. In constitutional history, nine motions to recommend the dismissal of Prime Ministers, including Kim Jong-pil (1999) and Lee Han-dong (2001), had been proposed but were all either discarded or rejected.

The Democratic Party of Korea submitted the motion to recommend the dismissal of Prime Minister Han on the 18th, holding him responsible for issues such as the Itaewon tragedy, the Jamboree controversy, the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan, and the controversy surrounding the death of Marine Corps Private Cha Amu-gae.

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