'Special Investigation Block or Boycott'... Kim Geon-hee Special Investigation Act Becomes Sudden Variable in President Yoon's Impeachment

Democratic Party to Process President Yoon's Impeachment Motion at 7 PM on the 7th
Plan to Submit Kim Gun-hee Special Prosecutor Law to the Plenary Session Alongside Special Prosecutor Law
Ruling Party, Which Considered Boycott, Escapes Dilemma

The 'Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act,' which had always been a symbol of frustration for the opposition, has emerged as a new breakthrough in the impeachment crisis. The People Power Party (PPP) dreamed of all its members boycotting the plenary session so that the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol would fail due to insufficient quorum. However, because of the 'Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act,' they are now reconsidering their refusal to attend.

On the 5th, after concluding the Supreme Council meeting, the Democratic Party decided to hold the impeachment vote against President Yoon at 7 p.m. on the 7th. The National Assembly initially reported the impeachment motion against President Yoon at 12:47 a.m. on the 5th. According to related laws, the vote could have been held by the early morning of the 6th, but the vote was postponed.

Cho Seung-rae, the chief spokesperson for the Democratic Party, explained, "We decided this because the public needs some time regarding the impeachment motion, and similarly, the People Power Party members need time to deliberate on the unconstitutional and illegal rebellion, coup, and insurrection to make a political decision." This move is interpreted as considering that the PPP had set the rejection of the impeachment motion as party policy through a party meeting.

Yonhap News

As it stands, if all PPP members vote against the impeachment motion according to party policy, the motion will be rejected since it requires the approval of 200 out of 300 members. Moreover, if, as some suggest, 108 PPP members boycott the plenary session by not entering the chamber, the quorum will not be met. Since the impeachment motion must be processed between 24 hours and 72 hours after being reported, in this case, the impeachment motion is likely to be discarded.

In this regard, the Democratic Party has come up with a clever strategy. They decided to expedite the passage of the Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act, which was originally scheduled for the 10th. The act, returned to the National Assembly due to President Yoon's veto power, requires approval by two-thirds of the members present in the plenary session. Until now, the PPP has always participated in the re-vote to block its passage. However, if they leave the plenary session to block the impeachment motion this time, the opposition alone can pass the Special Prosecutor Act. Once passed this time, the veto power cannot be exercised.

No Jong-myeon, the Democratic Party floor spokesperson, said, "We are bringing forward what was originally planned for the 10th because there is a possibility that the PPP will boycott when processing the impeachment motion, and there is no suitable way to make them come in, so we decided to re-vote. The Special Prosecutor Act requires two-thirds of the members present, so if the PPP does not participate, it will be passed." It appears that the opposition believes that if they can get the ruling party members to come to the plenary session, the likelihood of them voting on the impeachment motion is higher than if they boycott as a party policy.

Yonhap News

Regarding the impeachment motion alone, for the ruling party, not appearing in the plenary session is the most advantageous tactic to block President Yoon's impeachment according to party policy, but in this case, they must allow the passage of the Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act. Conversely, to reject the Special Prosecutor Act, ruling party members must attend the plenary session, increasing the likelihood that they will participate in the impeachment vote. The ruling party thus faces a new dilemma.

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