Donggwan Lee, on the opposition's impeachment push: "A new form of terrorism denying democracy"

Lee Dong-gwan "Using Numbers to Undermine Democracy is Terrorism"
Democratic Party Withdraws Impeachment Bill... Likely to Target Next Plenary Session
Park Ju-min "Ruling Party Protecting Lee Dong-gwan... Desire to Control Broadcasting"

Lee Dong-kwan, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission, fired back on the 10th against the Democratic Party of Korea's attempt to forcibly process an impeachment motion against him, calling it a "new type of terrorism that denies democratic institutions." The Democratic Party plans to re-push the impeachment motion by the end of this month after it was stalled due to the ruling party's cancellation of a filibuster the previous day.

On the same day, during the National Assembly Budget and Accounts Special Committee's comprehensive policy questioning, Chairman Lee said, "I would like to add a word about the impeachment crisis," and criticized, "Denying or nullifying democratic institutions by leveraging numerical superiority is what recent political scientists call a new type of terrorism."

Lee Dong-kwan, Chairman of the Korea Communications Commission. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

He also mentioned the American phenomenon of 'Trumpism.' This refers to the phenomenon where some segments of the public enthusiastically support the extreme claims made by former U.S. President Donald Trump during his candidacy. Targeting the Democratic Party, Chairman Lee said, "If past terrorism involved the use of violence, this is precisely Trumpism," emphasizing, "The founding fathers of the United States were most concerned about the tyranny of the majority."

Chairman Lee also repeatedly sharpened his criticism of the Democratic Party by utilizing questions from ruling party lawmakers. When Jo Su-jin, a member of the People Power Party, asked about the policy of strengthening fake news scrutiny, he said, "If fake news that significantly affects elections was left unchecked, I think impeachment would be justified," but added, "However, it is difficult to understand the reason or the twist behind impeaching someone for trying to crack down on it."

Hong Ik-pyo, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is talking with Park Ju-min, the chief deputy floor leader, at the policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on the 9th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The Democratic Party, the day before, had submitted an impeachment motion as a party resolution against Chairman Lee, Son Jun-sung, Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Daegu High Prosecutors' Office, and Lee Jeong-seop, Second Deputy Chief Prosecutor of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office. However, after the plenary session began, the People Power Party abruptly canceled the filibuster, putting a brake on the motion. The Democratic Party repeatedly requested Speaker Kim Jin-pyo to reopen the plenary session, but Speaker Kim set the condition of 'agreement between the ruling and opposition parties.'

With the situation unfavorable, the Democratic Party withdrew the impeachment motion temporarily on the morning of the same day. Park Joo-min, the senior deputy floor leader, held a press conference at the National Assembly communication office and stated, "The People Power Party showed a blatant desire and ambition to seize control of broadcasting by gathering to protect Chairman Lee," and added, "Do not pressure the National Assembly Secretariat. Attempts to reinterpret through pressure are inappropriate."

Within the ruling party, there are claims that the dismissal of the agenda should be considered a 'rejection,' but the Democratic Party voluntarily withdrew the motion '72 hours before' the deadline for dismissal, avoiding controversy over the principle of non bis in idem. The National Assembly side also holds the position that since the impeachment motion was only reported to the plenary session and was not formally placed on the agenda, withdrawal (not dismissal) is possible.

The Democratic Party plans to re-submit the impeachment motion on the 30th and report it again to the plenary session. Since the plenary session is scheduled for the following day, December 1, they believe they can meet the regulation of 'within 24 to 72 hours after reporting to the plenary session.'

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