Opposition Party May Consider Impeachment Card Against Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon

Democratic Party Considers Impeachment of Han Dong-hoon After October National Audit
"Korea Leads Yoon Administration's Prosecutor Politics"

The opposition party is toying with the impeachment card against Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon. Earlier, Minister Han appealed for the approval of the arrest motion against Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, saying "there is an abundance of evidence," and the opposition party is now hinting at the possibility of impeachment following their demand to President Yoon Seok-yeol for Minister Han's dismissal.

Hong Ik-pyo, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out on October 4th on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus" that "At the center of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's governance failure were the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution," adding, "I believe the president has not engaged in politics as president but has continued to act politically as the Prosecutor General, and Minister Han Dong-hoon has been at the forefront of that."

The timing for considering the impeachment motion is after the October National Assembly audit. Floor leader Hong explained, "We need time to listen to public opinion and deliberate carefully, and secondly, since the audit will take place in October, we do not want the issue to be diluted by other matters," adding, "Since there is no plenary session scheduled, it is impossible to proceed in October."

Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon is listening attentively to reporters' questions regarding the dismissal of the arrest warrant for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, as he arrives at the Ministry of Justice in the Government Complex Gwacheon on the morning of the 27th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

However, concerns about a 'backlash' are also emerging, as the Democratic Party has already played the cabinet member impeachment card. The Democratic Party passed an impeachment motion against Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min over responsibility for the October 29 Itaewon tragedy, but the Constitutional Court dismissed it. If a similar scenario repeats, the Democratic Party could bear the full political responsibility.

Yoon Hee-seok, spokesperson for the People Power Party, raised his voice on the same day on SBS Radio's "Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show," saying, "What kind of situation will arise if impeachment is overused? The Democratic Party only has six months left, and everything will be recorded and documented," adding, "They keep fixating on Minister Han Dong-hoon and trying to do something, but they always lose. I hope they stop."

Former People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok predicted that instead of actually pushing for impeachment, the Democratic Party would use it to pressure Minister Han. On October 2nd, on KBS Radio's "Joo Jin-woo Live," Lee said, "They will keep taking the sword out and putting it back in the sheath, teasing by talking about impeachment but not actually doing it."

On the 21st, Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon is returning to his seat after explaining the arrest motion for Representative Lee Jae-myung at the National Assembly plenary session. Photo by Yonhap News

With rumors of Minister Han's candidacy in the general election circulating, there are also suggestions that the decision to file an impeachment motion depends on his political future. It is suspected that the Democratic Party is using the impeachment card to curb Minister Han's political moves. However, Floor leader Hong flatly denied this, saying, "It is completely unrelated."

Floor leader Hong said, "If you look at the role of the Minister of Justice, they are not supposed to intervene in individual cases, but it is hard to shake the impression that he is very directly and closely involved in individual cases," adding, "There are various issues, so we need to examine and judge whether those issues are illegal, and also consider various national affairs, especially the president's request to change the national policy direction."

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